Life in Southern Rivers
by Black 13 Productions
Summary: A collection of short drabbles and one-shots written by Mai based on the world being woven in -Fields of Gold-. Most of this contains spoilers to the story, but not all of it. This features such things as CanonxOC pairings, speculations, and personal headcanons. You have been warned. -Rated mostly for mild language, but there are a few darker themes to take into account as well.-
1. Halloween 2012 -- Tradition

**A/N: Little drabble thought I had, decided on cute into mildly sad. Sorry for it being one day late; the original platform I was writing it on crashed while saving it and ate the whole thing, so I had to start over.**

**I am also aware that Australia does not observe Halloween as broadly as America and Britain do, mostly due to distance problems with those further into the interior of the continent. However, I did manage to find out that some communities do celebrate in much the same way, though this is a development that has come about in the last eight or so years. New Burramudgee (after the Quinkan invasion) seems like the sort of community to agree to do such, as a celebration to their still being alive and in relatively one piece as well as a memorial to those brave citizens and authority figures who lost their lives defending the town. Thought I would get that out to avoid confusion.  
**

**Continuity follows one plotted between me and and a friend, blindeyewanderer on Tumblr.**

**I hope you enjoy it!**

**TY the Tasmanian Tiger (c) Krome Studios**  
**OCs (c) their respective owners (including me)**

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"And _why _do you want to be a Quinkid?"

The question was directed to a small ball of fluff, his fur dyed black and little temporary extensions put to specific points on his ears and fingers, florescent blue paint around his eyes and along the line of his mouth lain by the elder's expertly stable hand.

Ozymandias puffed up in indignation, the little hybrid cub of four years obviously not seeing why his father did not understand the concept. After he had made himself seem as big as he could (which, to be fair, wasn't very big at all), he answered with the most pitiful pout in his voice he could muster.

"Because they're scary, that's why!"

Sly blinked, taken by temporary surprise at such a fluffy-vicious retort. He should have expected it; Oz had his mother's spunk. In the little cub's defense, Quinkids _were _pretty scary, especially to a little one like him. Only two words managed to sum up Sly's acceptance of the matter.

"Fair enough." He put his hand out to the little four-year-old. "C'mon then, mate. We've got to meet your mother and cousin here soon."

Oz made a strange noise at this; his mother had been out of the country for several weeks on business back in Russia and both her boys missed her so. The prospect of seeing his mother on such a day of celebration caused the cub to rather excitedly take hold of his father's offered hand, his little tail almost wagging in joy. The sight caused the older of the two to chuckle a bit; to be oh so young again and in Oz's position in life would have been a dream come true to Sly, a distinct change from what he had been forced to endure at his son's tender age.

The two of them set off down the path, a completed wooden trail spiraling down the stone spire much to Sly's chagrin. Than again, with a rambunctious cub like Oz around, it was best to have a completed pathway. Didn't want him trying to fall off the original sheer edges and with his adventurous nature, that had been a very real and equally terrifying possibility. Though the new walkway still creaked a bit with the weight of both father and son, it did not budge much, proving to be more than sturdy enough.

The field that surrounded the spire had long since been scorched, tainted by the Quinkan invasion, razing the golden weed that had populated it to the ground and making way for a blackened landscape pocked with purple pods. While eerily beautiful in its own way, it wasn't the field the older Thylacine had originally fallen in love with. It wasn't his little piece of heaven.

However, a change for the good had come with the end of the Quinkan. The weed had begun to grow again, slowly and in the starting green shoots, but Julius suspected that it would be close to a year or two before the golden plains returned as though they had never been touched. Sly was glad of this development, not just for the return of his little world as before, but because Oz had been born in a time when the Quinkan ruled. The little cub would finally get to see the world around him reborn, now that the ground was fertile enough again to sustain such quantities of life.

Oz let go of his father once they were on the ground, running through the field with an almost reckless abandon, darting in and out of the plants and weeds growing up in patches around the shack on the spire. Once or twice, he hid (poorly) and jumped out at his father with a rather squeaky little 'grawr!'. Though the older had seen him coming, he still acted the part of a collected shock to give the cub a slight sense of victory.

Right before they made it to the treeline where the bare trunks towered almost grotesquely against the failing light of sunset, Sly bent over at the last surprise attack, reaching forward to poke the cub's painted nose.

"So, little'ne. Are you gonna eat me now?" he asked, a subtly devious bit of amusement creeping into his voice at this.

Oz crinkled his usually-pink nose at the poke. "Nah. Da's a bit chewy. Plus he fights back and that's no fun."

Sly chuckled at this development, low and gruff but no less warm. "Well. It's good to know that I'm inedible."

"And tough." the cub tacked on with a stern nod of his little head.

"And tough..." was the echoed reply before his hand was held back out. "You know the rules, Oz."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Once the little hand of his son was back in his grip, the Tiger set off along an old game trail still mostly visible against the interior. For a second, there was silence. Of course, it didn't last long with Oz around. The cub seemed to have an incessant need to make sure it didn't stay quiet for long, the hazards of an inquisitive four-year-old.

"You know why we have Halloween, Da?"

Sly knew, of course, and had known since long before the now-black fluffball was born. He'd been the one to explain it to the boy, after all. Even if he hadn't known before, Ozymandias made it a point to remind him every year, since the day he could talk and remember how the story went. But, Sly saw no reason not to entertain the boy year after year. It made him happy, the both of them.

"No, Ozy. Why do we celebrate Halloween?"

"Because we're chasing away bad spirits!"

"And...?"

"And helping the good ones!"

Sly laughed a bit at this. "That's right, mate. Thanks for reminding me."

"You're welcome!"

Oz looked pleased with himself for once more foiling ignorance for another year, taking up a triumphant little march with his flexible tail held as high as he could get it and quirked at the end like a hook. He kept up the strut until the path intersected with a normal hiking trail, one Sly knew well enough. It lead out to the newly reconstructed and stabilized gates of New Burramudgee, which was where he wanted to be going. The rest of the party would be waiting at Di and Bri's shop for them, hopefully with the long-awaited Snow Leopardess waiting with them.

The rest of the trip was anything but quiet, with Oz pointing out almost everything he could see. Considering his ability to see in the dark, this left out very little. He started talking about how the trees looked like they were coming back to life and that they might be zombie trees and somehow ended on why the Kookaburra looked funny to him. How the cub managed to do this, Sly hadn't the faintest idea, but it at least kept his son within earshot at all times even though he was holding his hand. Cubs could be tricky (especially this one), so earshot was always a good thing.

It was not long before the trees abruptly ended at the road in front of the gates, Sly stopping and pulling back lightly on Oz to keep him from walking recklessly into the road. "What do we do, Oz?"

The little head moved back and forth in time to his answer. "We look both ways and make sure it's clear."

"Good on ya."

Sly did discreetly check on his own, though. It wasn't that he did not trust the boy, it was just that Oz was young and could accidentally miss something. Plus, he was taller, thus he could see farther. Even though the roads were generally clear, it was not uncommon to see a vehicle of any sort on them. With Oz painted black and in the creeping dark, it could end disastrously.

With the way deemed safe by the elder, they started across and to the open gates of New Burramudgee. The night guard gave a nod and salute to the rusty-colored Thylacine as he and his little Quincub passed by, the latter making little growling noises until they were out of sight and causing the guards to give hearty laughs at such enthusiasm. A new bridge had been constructed to close the gap left by the original lift during the invasion, the road leveled out to accept it more as a bridge. Julius had been a part of the planning sequence in the bridge, making it retractable as a precaution. It had the added features of being electrified, sending jolts of raw power into an invader before sending them plummeting into the chasm and river below.

The roads were closed off to vehicle traffic, and once that last corner was rounded into the canyon, it was easy to see why. New Burramudgee had been decked out in full for the first time Sly could remember in lights and lanterns. Little costumed cubs accompanied by their parents and escorts marched up and down the dual-tiered streets, businesses below handing out homemade treats to the little Halloween visitors while some residences above did the same ... when not throwing some form of party.

It felt good to see and hear and just feel the jovial atmosphere, no longer oppressed by the fear of anticipating the next attack. The town looked much more like a town, with sturdier buildings and a new legitimate enclosure for the Bush Rescue headquarters. Roads were freshly paved and the town's new location nestled into the embrace of a canyon helped in keeping the baddies out, as it was easier to patrol and keep a weathered eye on the landscape from above.

Even the people within the enclosed town were happier, everyone greeting the rusty Thylacine and the QuinOz with a wave and verbal welcome. Sly of course gave the adults the same greeting, Oz returning any given him in his typical hyper attitude.

It didn't take him long to spot their destination, Di and Bri's Rang Shop sitting at the end of the main street with the family together on the porch ... and a miniature version of Cass that could only be Jesse, Sly's nephew. Seeing no harm in letting Oz go see the family before he made it, the cub's hand was finally relinquished, a small nudge given to his back.

"Go on, then. Say hi to everyone."

Oz took his freedom liberally, bolting forward with a squeal of delight to go and hug his grandparents first, then his aunts and uncles before bouncing around in a happy fit with Jesse. Sly joined up with the family on the porch, greeting everyone and scanning the faces present. Ridge and his girlfriend, Brolga; Mum and Dad, Di and Bri; Ty and Shazza with their infant daughter, Bindi; even Betty and her fiance, Duncan. However, there was one face he didn't see, the one he wanted most.

The rusty Thylacine took a position near the corner of the porch, watching the cubs play and simultaneously compliment each other's costumes and brag about their own. He'd put on a good face for the sake of not bringing the holiday down in his low spirits, continuing to laugh and joke with the rest of the party on the front landing.

Within fifteen minutes of leaning against the corner of the building, his nose was assaulted with something that smelled almost smoky sweet, like apple cider on that rare cold day. An ear twitched, hearing the subtlest of creaking wood behind him.

Sly didn't need to second-guess the new presence in the area, whirling about and wrapping his arms about the wispy black-clad figure what was sneaking up behind him. He didn't need to see the spotted silvery face within the hood to know who it was; only one person in the entire world would be so bold as to try and sneak up on him.

He didn't remember if he said anything besides her name, turning circles in an almost uncharacteristically childish joy. Kisses were shared, contact missed in those several weeks apart, and embraces shared amidst applause and welcomes from the family and a few Bush Rescue members who were nearby. Almost immediately, Oz was in the middle of the fray, Jesse temporarily forgotten in the excitement of seeing his mother again. The cub almost teleported back to the porch, jumping up and down to catch the Snow Leopardess' attention with his little arms outstretched.

"Mama, Mama! You're back!"

She bent down and swept the cub up into her arms, leaning on her husband lovingly and nuzzling her forehead to that of her little painted son.

"Oh my! You look very fearsome!" she complimented, watching with a laugh as Oz puffed himself up in a multitude of black spikes as though trying to look even moreso.

"Da helped me!"

Eva laughed at this, something that brought the older Thylacine to a sense of comfort. How he had missed that melodic laugh. "Oh, did he now?"

She looked up from under her hood, brow quirked almost questioningly, an expression to match the amused tone on that smooth Russian voice.

Sly looked taken aback. "What? Didn't think I could celebrate Halloween?"

She chuckled darkly, knowingly. "Did not think you would let him be a Quinkan."

The Thylacine flattened his ears to his head. "Well, it's scary, isn't it?"

"I said that!" Oz interjected rather matter-of-factly.

Sly had regained his composure, mussing the cub's slicked hair about. "Alright, so you did."

Oz returned the favor by batting at his father's intruding hand before turning his attention back to his cloaked mother. "What're you supposed to be?"

Eva thought a moment, her hidden tail visibly twitching now beneath the black cloak. "Well, I was thinking ... either the Graveyard Guide or a Corrupted Priest. I cannot decide which one."

Sly chanced a glance at her neck. "Missing the collar, love. I say Guide."

The Snow Leopardess held a simple metal censer up, an almost devious grin crossing her face. "I was thinking the same, honestly. Would be a waste of a perfectly good censer not to."

Oz reached for it to touch it, Eva pulled it back from him. "No, no. That is hot and we do not want to burn little fingers."

The cub made a disgruntled noise, but gave up the attempt and hugged his mother instead. "Can I get down please?"

"I do not think so! I still have three weeks of love to give!"

"No!"

Sly chuckled at this, leaning forward to kiss the Leopardess' cheek. "Missed you. A lot."

Bright silver eyes found his faded blue. "Missed you, as well." Small peck was given back to him, despite Oz's attempts to leave the 'gross-fest', as he called it. They were unsuccessful. "Go and talk to your brother. I think you two have something to talk about." She chuckled a bit at this. "I will watch the kids."

Sly looked up, toward Ty first. Always toward Ty first. The golden Tiger lifted a brow.

"I think she meant your big brother, mate." he stated.

It was never on purpose that he did this, Ridge knew why. Sly had grown up with Ty, been there when he was born and protected him like a big brother should ... even though they were honestly cousins. Sly would always look to Ty first when his brother was mentioned. Thankfully, there was no animosity toward that; the events that lead to it had been inevitable.

Sly raised his free hand, waving in thanks to his little brother. Another kiss was given to Eva's cheek. "Love you." Blue eyes turned to Oz. "You be good for your mom, you hear?"

"Duh." the cub laughed, also giving his mother a kiss on her other cheek, to which she let him down before planting a return kiss to Sly's lips.

"Love you, too. Be good. Ken's hosting a trick-or-treat party this year, so we should all be safe."

The dark Tiger nodded. "Good. He'll be good for the kids."

Of course, Ken was a good choice of temporary guardian; the Tasmanian Devil usually liked Halloween to begin with, painted himself up to look skeletal, and went his rounds to make the local cubs feel safe from beasties and ghoulies, fake and real.

A wave was given from both parties, Eva ushering Oz off toward Jesse and followed by Ty and Shazza. Already, Sly felt cold and alone, but at the least his Leopardess was home now and he could come back to her and Oz later. It wasn't long before Skeleton-Ken came up the street while doing his routine Halloween dance-traipse with the usual Boonie-ghost accompanying, quickly gathering an audience of excited cubs while announcing a trick-or-treat party for anyone who wanted to join.

That was where Sly left the party to go on its way, stealing another glance at the black-robed figure of his wife as she went on with the crowd before turning about to his older brother, Ridge. A brow was quirked at Brolga's resumed presence with those present.

"Aren't you going to follow?" he asked, nodding his head at the steadily retreating party down the street.

The albino Thylacine shook her head. "Nah. Jess'll be fine with Ken, Ty, and the others." she answered. "I'm choosing to stay here with Di and Bri, help out a bit."

The rust-colored Tiger nodded his head. "Fair enough. We all need a little bit of time to ourselves."

Here, Ridge joined the conversation with a small laugh. "Yeah, know what you mean there, bro." He nodded his head to the younger. "Got the candles?"

Sly reached into the vest he wore, producing two small candlesticks. "Aye. And the matches to light them with."

Ridge nodded, the atmosphere had grown almost colder and quieter than the warm liveliness of before. The elder turned toward Brolga. "This is something we've got to do alone. Think you can hold the fort?"

The white Tiger snorted almost indignantly. "Probably better than you can..." she told him, playfully, digging her elbow into his side. Stupid answers to stupid questions...

Ridge laughed a little, trying to block the intruding limb before he took a few strides toward Sly. "Ready to go, then?"

Sly nodded, looking to his aunt and uncle, the adopted parents he had known for so many years. "We'll be back in a bit, aye?"

Di nodded her head to him, laughing a bit. "You say that like you're afraid we can't take care of ourselves. If we can fight off Cass before you were even born, Sly dear, I'm sure we can survive candy-hungry cubs on Halloween."

Bri had walked up behind his wife, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry about us, boys. I know you've got plans. We'll hold it down here until you get back."

Brolga took the opportune moment to poke Ridge in the side again. "Just go on! We'll see you two when you get back."

The darker Tiger jumped a bit at being poked, smacking lightly at the finger in his back. "Alright, already! We'll get going!"

Sly had started laughing at the replies he had received, accompanying his elder brother back out of town to the cemetery nearby. Without the influence of the Quinkan tainting the land, there was no longer a threat of the dead rising up out of the ground in that direction.

Having Oz around proved to have some influence on the ruddy Tiger; he could not stand walking without talking anymore. Blue eyes looked up to Ridge, though the glance did not draw any attention. Time to use his voice, something Sly rarely did on his own.

"Hey, uh ... Ridge?"

The older of the brothers looked down to his younger. "Yeah?"

"You were old enough to remember our parents, right?"

"Yeah..."

"...What were they like?"

The last question was hesitant. Sly had never really thought about what his biological parents would have been like, really only imagined they would have been kind and loving, the sort of parent he had always hoped he'd be. Though with Oz being as happy as he usually was and openly inquisitive about everything, it wasn't hard to imagine that he'd done as he set out to do.

Ridge paused a moment, almost surprised at the question. "You've never wanted to know before, mate."

Sly shrugged. "It's been weighing on my mind a bit, lately."

The darker Thylacine nodded. "Well, Mum was a good mother, I like to think. She was so happy when you were born, never really played any favoritism between us. Dad was happy, too. He was always a little odd, bit straight-forward with everything, but I suppose that's the way most of the Lions are." He chuckled a little. "I like to think we both kinda picked up Dad's sense of humor."

This wrenched a small laugh from Sly as well; all the Marsupial Lions he had been around were dry and sarcastic. Especially Carnifax, who showed up on occasion in New Burramudgee to share a drink or two with the Bush Rescue operatives. The humor given when in company with that Lion always made Sly and Ridge start laughing with him when no one else would.

"Yeah, I suppose we kinda did, didn't we..."

Before he had a chance to ask any more questions, however, the two brothers found themselves at the gates for the cemetery. The two of them stood at the open gates, taking a moment to gather themselves. This was the first year that they were doing this, something that Eva had been doing every year. Sly had brought it up and Ridge agreed that it would be something nice to do as a tradition for just them.

"You ready to do this?" Ridge asked his little brother after a moment had been given.

Sly nodded his head. "Aye. Let's go do this."

The pair set off into the cemetery, toward the very back corner where a pair of gravestones sat, weathered and cracked, but with a name each on them; _Leann_ on the left, _Grigori_ on the right. The plots beneath each were empty, but it still brought some solace to know they were still lain next to one another. It also did not stop either brother from carefully stepping over where a body would have been.

Once the brothers were positioned between the plots, Sly pulled out the candles he had brought with him, handing one of the sticks to Ridge. A pair of matches were pulled out, one handed to the elder brother before they were ready.

"You start." Ridge urged. "You know how this is supposed to go."

Sly nodded. "...Alright."

Though he cringed inwardly a bit at the hesitation at the fore of his acceptance, the ruddy Thylacine still went on to do as he had seen his Leopardess do.

_Make it personal_, she had said. _Spirits react best to something they'll recognize._

"Hey, Mum. Dad." he started. "We ... we miss you both, you know. Sorry I don't remember you at all. I wish I did; from the sounds of things, you were both great. I ... uh ... I hope that me and Ridge lighting these and leaving them here is alright. If it'll help you sleep until next year knowing we're safe, I suppose this is best for all of us." Here, he turned his head to look at Ridge. " ...You think they'll like that?"

Ridge chuckled a bit. "I think they'll like it just fine, mate. They _are _our parents, after all."

Sly gave a small smile to that. "True."

The matches were struck, the wicks lit on the candles before they were settled into the earth at the base of the headstones. This was to lead the spirits back to a comfortable place to rest, a guiding light to a place of sleep until the next year. With the candles set, a hand each was placed on the pair of gravestones before the brothers made their way out of the graveyard, a small farewell given to the graves.

"When we get back, we'll look for Ken." Ridge told Sly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I think following the kids around for a bit will do us both some good. Remind us both that Mum and Dad's efforts were not in vain. Plus, I think it'll do Oz some good to have both his parents present this year."

Sly gave off a rasped chuckle, though it sounded small and weak to him. "Yeah. That sounds just ri-"

He stopped abruptly at the sensation creeping up his spine of being watched, turning around to look back toward the cemetery. The sudden cut-off and whirl about caused Ridge to follow suit, switching his mind to the offensive with his hands on his trusty 'rangs as a just in case. What had caught Sly's attention, however, was obviously no threat.

From the back corner of the cemetery, a pair of very vague outlines had appeared, just barely visible against the clear night sky. Once the silhouettes were spotted, they seemed to grow more prominent, slowly, the distinct forms of a Thylacine standing next to the taller broader outline of a Marsupial Lion. Both had a hand up, the universal sign for thanks and goodbye.

"See ya, Mum. Dad." Ridge nodded. His voice was cracking, but it didn't matter to his little brother.

After all, his eyes were beginning to water.


	2. Promises, Promises: 1 -- Ridge and Sly

**A/N****: I've been meaning to do this for a week or two now! Even then, it's not the best I've written, but I think I did well enough for it so far.**

**More backstory to the headcanons that Sly and Ridge are biological brothers. I felt they needed an explanation and (of course) a little love.**

**Two parts, mainly to draw a line of parallels between the two pairs of brothers depicted.**

**As a random note, I think chapters should come with an optional short summary...  
**

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It was raining.

Even though Ridge was barely into five years, he knew how cliche that sounded, running through rain to escape bad folk. However, in the long run, he knew that the heavy downpour was helping him. Frills and Blue Tongues couldn't smell very well in rain and the water soaking into his fur made him look colder than he really was to the thermal goggles a majority of Cass' henchmen wore.

The only thing the thudding of rain and cracking of thunder above couldn't drown out was the whimpering cries of the ruddy-colored younger cub the Thylacine carried with him, trying to simultaneously shield him and make it so he too was invisible to the heat-dependent sight.

"Shush now, Sly." he whispered to the cub, though it did little good; the babe was wailing and they were still a good mile or so from the safe-house.

It wasn't until the elder of the pair had brought him into the storm physically that he had begun to cry. If it had been a clear night, Sly would have probably remained silent. At the same time, though, the brothers would have been caught as well.

Ridge knew the mental images of that night would never leave him and it fueled something in him. Anger ... no, rage. The prominent poison of vengeance rose in the older darker Tiger at the remembrance of their mother -Leann- ushering Sly into Ridge's arms and telling him to run for his aunt and uncle's home not that far away, their father -Grigori- battling back against the hordes of reptiles trying to push into the home with the javelins and spears Marsupial Lions were trained to fight with.

_Cass did this. Cass tore this family apart. I'll make him pay..._

For a second, Ridge stopped amidst a patch of the taller grasses and foliage, peeking up over the top to try and see where their pursuers were. He could barely make out the small squad of reptiles trudging through the grasses of the plain, darting around to and fro but nowhere near him.

He might get out of this scott-free, he thought proudly to himself. This was before turning around, coming face to face with the glowing lenses of the goggles on a Frill who had sneaked up behind him.

"I found 'em! Over here!"

Before the reptile could grab the little Tiger and his incessantly crying brother, Ridge darted just out of range.

"Why dontcha go stick that fat ugly head in a bucket of cow slop! It'll make you look better!" he yelled, venomously, before disappearing into a wall of flora and bolting away from him.

"It got away!" came the next flustered update, soon drowned out by the rain.

For a second, Sly snuggled into his brother's chest, giving a single plaintive cry for his want for warmth. Ridge did what he could for that, pulling off the blanket he had been using to cover himself and using it as a shield against the weather, glad now that the cub had given all he could vocally and was finally quiet. Once his little sibling was cared for, Ridge chanced another glance around, this time checking behind him first. The treeline was a straight line between two groups of reptiles. Dangerous, but he could do it.

He gathered himself up, bolted across the wet terrain as close as he could to the tall plain grass that grew in odd patches. His footsteps sounded loud, deafening to him, as did his heart. He thought for certain this was the end, thought that the others could hear his heart pounding against his breastbone. One of the Blue Tongues was walking directly across his path. Too late to stop now, had to time this just right...

Sly was clutched a little tighter to his chest, the cub whining a little to having been moved. The Blue Tongue stopped mid-stride, looked in the direction the noise came from, offering a moment for Ridge to speed up and slip passed without even being noticed; chancing a glance toward the would-be obstacle once he passed it showed the considerably larger reptile continuing on his path as though nothing happened.

_Home free..._

The trees offered the older brother better cover, skidding to a stop to check the cub he had been protecting this entire time. Sly had finally been lulled back to sleep, causing Ridge to wonder why he hadn't implemented the blanket before. The toddler gave a small cry as his brother shifted him about to better carry him by, but after that, fell into a tired half-slumber.

The older Thylacine looked around carefully, though did not pick up on any movement or glowing lenses so far amongst the darkened trees. He had to be careful, he knew. They might not be able to see him in the towering trunks, but that could also mean he did not see them until it was too late. As much as he wanted to run through the woodland to the other side, he wouldn't do that when he was responsible for someone else. Perhaps if he had been alone, but this was not the case.

Slowly, carefully, the dark-colored Tiger made his way through the trees on a path he had taken many times before. Silver eyes kept a vigilance into the shadows; he could not see so well in the dark, especially while it was raining. However, he could still notice any strange lights, particularly the incandescent thermal goggles. Those would help him in the long run.

Sly stayed quiet for the majority of the walk, something Ridge was grateful for, making little noises here and there but nothing too extensive. The trek through the woods were relatively quiet, disturbed only by the sounds of pattering rain and the occasional crunch of footsteps from the older Thylacine cub.

Ridge exited the trees once they thinned out, his feet touching stone still warm from the day before. The Rainbow Cliffs were right on that border between the temperate coasts and the Australian interior, so it was not uncommon to find some weather from the coast roll into the area. Ridge's mind was not on the long-term weather, though.

No, he heard the shouting from the trees behind him. While it still sounded far off, he could not be sure. Besides, he saw his destination, a few little shacks nestled against the canyon wall. Sly was shifted, stirring the toddler cub awake.

"We there?" came the tired question, the first intelligible words he had spoken since the attack.

Ridge was sliding down the gently sloping wall on one side, landing on the upper tier of the canyon. "Almost. Just hold on, little bro."

Sly did as he was told, holding tight to his older brother's shoulders. The landing entered a small canyon, which opened up to the shacks Ridge had spotted from above. He pushed against the dilapidated wooden gates, listening to them groan in protest to being used on their worn and rusted hinges, before he approached one of the two houses, one he knew.

Sly knew where they were, the recognition dawning on his face as Ridge walked up the creaking steps to the sheltered porch and put his blanket-covered brother on the weathered wood.

"We at Unca'nAuntie's house." the younger stated in the slurs of sleep, rubbing at his eyes.

Ridge nodded. "That's right, bro." His voice got low here. There was a small twinge of sadness to his tone. "Listen. Sly. I have to leave you here for now."

It was like the fatigue was gone from the littler cub. "No! I go wif you!" he whimpered, grabbing out at his brother's hand. "I go wif you!"

Ridge pried the little hands off his wrist; Sly was stronger than he thought for a three-year-old cub, especially when upset. "Listen to me! You have to stay here, alright? I still have to take care of something really fast. You gotta be strong for me."

Sly sniffled, trying to stifle the new wave of tears that were threatening to burst forth. "Come back...?" he asked, tentatively.

"I'll come back, alright? Promise you, I will." Ridge told him, kissing the littler cub on his forehead like he had seen their mother do to calm him down. "I'm just going to get Mum and Dad."

"Mums'n'Da 'kay?"

Ridge nodded to the question. "I'm sure they're just fine, Sly." He knew better, though. "I'll go and get them, okay?"

Sly nodded his head in acceptance.

"Good boy. Can you be brave for me and stay with Auntie and Uncle?"

Sly nodded his head again, though a small whimper accompanied the motion.

Ridge took the moment to knock on the door as loud as he could, then turned around and ran back toward the gate. "I'll be back for you, Sly! I promise!"

Ridge didn't look back; doing so would only make him want to stay and he had things to do. Cass' henchmen were coming in closer and he had to lead them away from here. For Sly.

He didn't have to imagine the condition of his parents, knew already what had transpired. He scrambled up the sides of the little canyon, ran into the trees again, toward the moving pinpoints of glowing light, coming closer.

"Hey, you dirty lizards! I'm over here!"

Someone in the group yelled back up to him in that trademark nasally voice most Frills were unfortunately bestowed with, "Hey, now! We're reptiles!"

There was an awkward pause before someone else, a Blue Tongue from the deeper timbre, spoke up. "It's the same thing, I think."

This, of course, started an argument amongst those present over whether there was a difference between reptiles and lizards, allowing Ridge to sneak passed and around them.

"You're not doing your jobs!" he yelled once he was behind the group, running with a laugh that hid more than enough of the vengeful nature that had taken root in the young Thylacine.

It procured the reaction he expected, stopping the fighting and inciting the gathering to give chase. Running ahead of the group, he could only hope Sly was taken care of.

* * *

"Who could be at the door at this hour of the night?"

That had been the question on Dianne's lips when the house shook with the loud knocking. She had just gotten Ty to sleep for the night; the infant's adventurous nature made it hard to keep him asleep. Betty had gone in for the night, Brian going in to read to her. Of course, she had not expected to open the door and find a sniffling wet little rust-colored Thylacine. It did not take her long to recognize her little nephew.

"Oh my! Sly!?"

There was a stumbling crash from down the hall, Brian having heard his wife's exclamation and come running.

"What're you doing out there, mate?" he added on. "C'mon in here!"

The little cub didn't need to be told twice, toddling clumsily over the heavy wool blanket he was wrapped in to cling to the nearest adult he reached first. As it turned out, Dianne was the first to cross his path, soon finding that Sly had attached himself to one leg. Brian had barely leaned out the door, looking around for any other sign of life. Finding no one, he came back inside and shut the door before turning around and kneeling next to Sly.

"Did you come here all alone, Sly?"

The little rust-colored cub shook his head and wiped his eyes as dry as he could get them. "Bro c'me back."

"Ridge must have dropped him here." Brian surmised as his wife picked up the trembling toddler. "Something's gotta be wrong at Leann's place for this to happen." The older Thylacine's brow knit. "But why would Ridge just go? He knows Sly'd need him."

"He probably did it to protect him." Dianne replied, walking carefully to the back of the house to dry the cub off. "Don't you worry. We'll watch over you until Ridge or your parents get back."

"I'll go take a look out there. See what's up." Brian called after her.

Dianne was already in the process of drying Sly off, despite his protests to the action. "Be careful out there. If something is wrong, I don't want you caught up in it."

"Don't worry, love. I'll be fine." he assured her before donning a coat and taking his leave. The creak and click of the shutting door told his wife that he was no longer in the house.

Dianne turned back to Sly, pulling the towel away from the cub and putting on a good face for him. "Oh my, look at how spiky you're turning out to be!"

The kindness dealt him did not seem to faze the cub from the one thing on his mind, though. "Where Bro?" It came out pitiful, upset. Just as expected of a young cub.

"Don't you worry. Your Uncle Bri's gone out to get him." Dianne told him. Somewhere deep in her gut, she knew that her husband would return empty and probably with bad news; Sly was a good kid and would not have been on their doorstep after dark unless something was horribly wrong. "Let's get you all warmed up. It's a bit chill out there."

The ruddy cub wiped away more tears threatening to show and sniffed the rest of the urge back, though sleep was defeating him by every passing second. It was this defeat that caused him to be more compliant, knowing somewhere deep inside that he was safer here than outside. "...'Kay."

"That's a good brave boy." Dianne cooed, picking him up and wrapping him in a new dry blanket.

Once he had been given something warm to drink and was beginning to drift, his aunt brought him to one of the bedrooms upstairs, laid him alongside a small golden-furred infant cub.

"Sly, this is Ty. He's your new cousin." she explained, trying to be fast but understood to the drowsy Tiger cub. "You're going to be staying with us for a while, I feel. Can you watch over him and be a big brother too?"

Through half-lidded blue eyes, the toddler looked on to the sleeping other. His little face scrunched into one of sleepy thought, though he pushed out three heavy-laden words. "Keeps safe. Prom'se."

Dianne smiled at this, stroked the darker cub's head. "Good on ya, Sly. I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

By the time she left the room, Sly was asleep. The door to the room was shut in time to hear the front door open. From the way Brian was dragging himself into the house again, it had to have been bad. There was only one thing to do; Dianne ran as quietly and as quickly as she could down to the front door to comfort her husband.


	3. Promises, Promises: 2 -- Sly and Ty

**A/N:**** Part 2, Sly and Ty!**

**Not much else to say on this one... The parallels between the two pairs of brothers (biological and non) are pretty easy to spot.**

* * *

The sun was almost at its zenith for the day, the temperatures beginning to soar. Insects hummed and buzzed, a sweltering wind blowing off the Cliffs rustling rust-colored fur. Somewhere behind the dark-tinted Thylacine cub, mechanical whirrings and the rhythmic rumbling thud of excessively heavy footsteps echoed.

"Sly! Wait up!"

The voice was wavering, squeaky. Sly skid to a stop, turning about to face the younger golden-furred Tiger cub. This felt familiar, some part of the elder dredged up memories of a taller darker figure that was towering over him, warm and comforting...

Over the top of the trees spreading behind Rainbow Cliffs, the RoboFluffy Boss Cass had been piloting was bobbing closer and closer into view. It was not hard to imagine that hiding in the trees could be a decent division of Frills and possibly Blue Tongues.

Sly drew in a deep breath. Every nerve tingled, every inch of him bristled in obvious threat. He wanted to turn and fight. He wanted to stop the onslaught, but knew it was fruitless at this point. His job was already laid out for him, set by Betty when she told him to go.

_"Take Ty and run!"_ she had said, hurriedly. _"Get him and yourself as far from here as possible, Sly! I'm stayin' to help Mum 'n' Dad!"_

That had been little more than fifteen minutes ago. Sly had done as he was bid, taking his younger brother and bolting from Rainbow Cliffs. Ty had fallen back, unable to keep up with the pace of the older.

The crashing of Cass and his goons was getting closer. Sly knew he couldn't stop now. Stopping risked the brothers getting caught and that was not a fate he wanted to subject Ty to, much less himself.

One hand wrapped around his little brother's extended wrist before the older cub ran. Ty protested to being pulled along; he had just turned four, a year behind his elder sibling, and so did not quite register the gravity of the situation. Sure, he understood that they were in some form of danger, but not what kind or how much.

Sly, on the other hand, could comprehend what was going on. Something embedded in every fiber told him what to do. Some instinct had pre-programmed the urge to protect his little brother, no matter what. Unfortunately, despite this urge, he also saw the realism of it.

They had not been running long enough to get away. The foliage and trees offered little protection to something like the RoboFluffy as it crunched along, presumably back to its hangar. If it was just the robot, maybe they would have a chance. But Cass had deployed a squad of his reptile army around the feet of the thing to catch any unwitting mammal off guard for disposal.

_We're not going to make it like this. Maybe if we..._

It was a brief thought, but he could do this. For Ty.

Sly chanced to look behind him, spot where the robot was positioned, and took a hard turn to one side. Ty, of course, fussed at this. That was how it was going to be, but he did not put up any further resistance.

Once they were far enough out of the robot's path, Sly took note of a rock outcropping, shielded by the deep forest foliage. This was a good spot. It was easy to slide into, the elder going first before offering himself to help his little brother in. Cool and dark and out of the way, it would give good shelter, providing no one made a noticeable sound until the trouble had passed.

Tucked away into the back corner, the pair of cubs was virtually invisible to any of the reptiles that were sweeping the landscape, hidden deep in the shadows and behind ferns and other such plants. Every so often, a passing Frill would blot out the faint choppy light coming through the entrance to the little half-cave. Ty would whimper softly, cling to his brother, but it would pass without incident.

For a moment, Sly thought they might have actually gotten off without a hitch and would simply wait until nightfall until moving on. What he hadn't counted on was the Blue Tongue that jumped up and landed on the rock above. The heavier lizard knocked loose some of the dirt that cemented the boulders what made the hole together. Sly managed to shield himself from it. Ty was not as lucky.

A small sneezing fit ensued, Sly trying to silence his little brother as best he could. It did not work as well as he wanted it to; the first few sneezes drew the attention of the Blue Tongue.

"There's somethin' around here!"

For a second, Sly could hear his heartbeat. It was like the world slowed down; he could hear the Frills and other Blue Tongues in the area come crashing through the foliage. This was the end for him and for Ty ... unless he did something.

"Ty?"

Bright green eyes, terrified and red from quietly crying, looked up into his brother's blue to show he acknowledged his elder's calling.

"Ty, I have to go now. You have to stay here, alright?"

There was a small but wet sniffle, though the littler cub seemed to accept it. "Y-you'll come back, right?"

Sly was unsure of the answer, really. Ty would not stay put if he said anything negative. He knew this; the younger Tiger was stubborn like that. "Aye. I'll come back. I promise."

The darker cub rose, looked to the entrance of their hideaway. "No matter what you hear. Don't leave this spot. No matter what. Come nightfall, when all is quiet, run."

Ty gave him a fervent nod, showing he understood the request.

Sly was gone in the next instant, through the leaves and shadows into the pocked light of the forest beyond. He darted underneath the first Blue Tongue's nose, causing him to fall back in surprise, attached himself to the face of the front-running Frill of the reinforcements that had been called in.

Every inch of fur the little Thylacine had on his body bristled outward at this, those vicious little teeth clamping down on one of the trademark fins Frills were named for with a prominent snarling growl. His target shrieked in a mixture of surprise and pain, proceeding to run about in uneven circles and crying for help. This, of course, incited the rest of his company to come rushing to his aid.

When he was grasped by one of the other reptiles in an attempt to pull him off, his direction changed to drive his teeth into the hand that had taken hold of him. Sly did not put up with being touched. At all. The action actually caused confusion, much to the cub's surprise. Once the offending reptile had been let go, Sly was off again and darting away from where Ty was hidden.

His eyes spotted a small crevice embedded into another rock face and he aimed for it. Before reaching it, he felt something grasp him by the scruff of his neck and yank him backwards. He cried out against it, landing hard on his backside before being dragged up off the ground.

When he saw who held him, his ears flattened to his head and he drew forth the single most vicious snarl he could muster, his fur standing on end in threat. The villainous Cassowary merely held him at arm's length to avoid being bitten in turn, looking at him through red eyes filled with nothing more than disgust ... and maybe a hint of disbelief.

"This." he started, shaking the cub lightly. "_This_ is what is causing all of the commotion?"

The reptilian mercenaries had gathered around the place Cass had finally caught the furry little menace.

"Well, he bit Jeb's left fin!" came the reply from somewhere in the ranks.

"And he got my hand!"

Cass looked at the cub he still held, watched it flail and turn, trying to find purchase with its little teeth, before turning back to his forces.

"Excuses, excuses! What am I paying you for!?"

"You killed my parents!" All activity stopped for a moment, all eyes turning toward the squirming Thylacine in Cass' feathered clutches. "I'm gonna make you pay for that!"

Something twinkled in the Cassowary's eyes right there. "Well, now. Don't you have a lot of fight. For a mammal, at any rate..."

The air of confusion was back, causing the Frills and Blue Tongues nearby to look amongst themselves. Cass was always scheming and plotting, but this seemed a bit extreme. Showing kindness of any level to a mammal was ... not usually in his books. He had to be up to something.

"Put me down! I'll tear the beak right off your face for what you did!"

Cass looked hurt at this, his demeanor shifting dramatically. "Now why would you want to do that? I did nothing wrong."

"Like hell you didn't! You killed them all!"

"How perceptive of you, young Tiger. And that language is too old for you! Besides! I did nothing of the sort! They all surrendered to me and left." A brow quirked on the bird's face. "Why? They didn't take you with them?"

"They didn't because they couldn't!" came the retort.

Cass replied with a low laugh. Dangerous. "Don't believe me, little Tiger? Perhaps you should come see for yourself."

As though a show of good nature, the Cassowary set the cub back on the ground. He no doubt knew that Sly could not run or try anything. His immediate forces were coming in to surround the pair in support of their employer. Any attempt to run or attack now would be foiled.

The realization of such a tactic dawned on Sly's young face. For one barely into five years, he had always been a smart and perceptive Tiger.

Cass lead the way, making sure to keep the idea that his intentions were good but only partially turning his back on the cub. Sly stayed frizzed in threat, but followed along behind. It was not long before the familiar shacks and cliffs and tiers came into view.

It was quiet, save for the ambient sounds of water rushing into the pools and the occasional rustle of wind in the desert-dwelling trees. There were no insects buzzing, no birds chirping. If it wasn't for the shuffle of feet on the ground and the occasional murmur from Cass' entourage, the entire area would have been dead of voluntary life.

The Cassowary stopped in front of a pair of old dilapidated gates, behind which sat a pair of houses. Familiar structures.

One feathered appendage was indicated toward them, which looked worse for wear now than they usually did. "Go on in, young cub! See the bodies which are left behind because I must have murdered them as you claim!"

If Sly could have puffed any more up, he would have. Something did not feel right, though he couldn't put his finger on it.

"You could have removed them!"

"How correct you are." Cass cooed at him. "Or would have been, had it been true. However, I began my attack almost a half an hour ago, give or take a minute. If I did indeed kill them, as you claim, I have had no time to clean up the mess, be it a struggle or anything else, between then and now."

The memories of the family leaving the house had left the cub's mind in lieu of the events of trying to hide Ty. Sly was careful here, not daring to put the Cassowary to his back. Him or his collection of reptilian mercenaries. Slowly, he pushed the gates aside with his back. He was pleased to hear the hinges creak and groan against the movement.

Once the gate swung shut again, he turned around and ran for the house. Now, he knew he could catch anyone trying to sneak up on him; the wire fencing made a distinct noise when being disturbed and the gates would obviously give away any movement. Cass may have been playing chivalrous, but the Cassowary was infamous for being bad. A change of heart was not unexpected or uncommon.

The door to the house was opened, protesting on its hinges with a slight squeak. The house was as it had been left. The boomerangs that had been displayed on the wall in the entry hall were missing from their hooks, but the furniture was still in place. The various homely items were still sitting on tables and shelves. The worn floorboards still sported the clawmarks of young cubs running from room to room. There were grooves in the stairs when Betty had made a makeshift sled from a piece of unused wood and took Ty down the staircase with her; there was the fondly remembered dent from the end of the adventure in the wall across from the last stair. Nothing was out of place. Nothing was missing. It felt wrong, something deep in Sly's mind telling him this was wrong. Not because of how clean it looked but just how ... normal it was.

The next few moments blurred together. He remembered running to the house next door, walking in and looking for anyone there. The result was the same. From there, he fell into something of a shocked daze. Some part of him knew Boss Cass had something to do with the events that had transpired. His reason told him that Cass was up to something. It told him all manner of solutions to try and lessen the blow of everyone having gone missing.

However, there was doubt. Thylacines were resourceful; all they needed was a pair of boomerangs and they could do anything...

His confidence waned, his once straight steps shuffling. The gate creaked and groaned. He did not hear it.

"Well, boy. What grand conclusion have you drawn from the evidence presented? Did I, in fact, kill your family and friends?"

Cass' voice rose prominent above all other sounds. It took a minute to register that he was speaking to the young cub. Even then, it took a further second to formulate an answer.

"...No."

"Were they home?"

There was a sort of underlying venom to the Cassowary's words. A knowingly devious venom, no doubt trying to rile the young Tiger into anger.

Sly remained silent but shook his head in response.

"Then by all conclusions drawn from evidence presented, I am dropped of all accused charges, would you say?"

"...I suppose."

"Good!" The tune changed again, from foreboding to something lighter. "Now! Was it only you out there in the woods?"

It took Sly a second; the way the Cassowary bored his red gaze into him felt as though he were stripping layers, gazing at secrets hidden away. His thoughts briefly flew to Ty, hidden in that little hole in the woods. His ears flattened to his head as the image of Ty vanished. Paranoid of that stare Cass placed on him. A stupid fear, but he couldn't take any chances now. Not for Ty. The new image played for him; he hid in the hole, sneezed, and bolted. Yes, that was the truth.

"Aye. I was."

Reason once more dredged from the bottom of his mind, tried to bring up Ty again in a show of hope. Paranoia pushed it back and subdued it. The answer seemed to calm the larger bird down.

"Good, good! Now, we can't have you living on your own in the wild, not a cub! You will come home with me. We will raise you up right."

Little nods were given in acceptance, the ruddy Thylacine following after the Cassowary with the reptilian entourage following after.

"So tell me, child. What is it that stirs in your head toward your cowardly parents?"

The words stung. Di and Bri were good parents, had taken good care of all three of their young cubs and were very involved with their community to help others. They weren't cowards and Sly knew that there was something under the surface he couldn't see; the situation in general made him bristle. In the face of Cass and in front of a small army of lizard mercenaries, he also knew his tune had to change in order to stay alive. In order to come back, as he promised.

"I ... I hate them!"

An almost devilish smile crossed the Cassowary's beak at this. "Good. Keep saying that to yourself, my dear boy, and you'll believe it soon enough..."

* * *

Ty had sat in the corner he had been left in, almost completely motionless out of fear that he might make a sound. Sly had left. With him had gone the noises of the Frills and Blue Tongues. The sun was still shining, though.

Ty was a good cub. If Sly said not to move until the one specific time, he would do it. After all, he looked up to the older cub like the elder looked after him.

It felt like it took forever for the sun to go down. Sly still hadn't returned by the time the light outside turned a pale orange. It was close enough to nightfall to move, right?

The young Tiger slid forward, looked cautiously passed the ferns that covered the entrance to the hole and tried to see if there was anyone outside. The insects had begun to chirp and buzz again, which was a good sign. The birds were beginning to sing, as well, calling their last goodbyes to the day. That was what he wanted to hear the most.

Chirping birds meant the dangers had passed.

He was still cautious, though, the golden cub making certain to look everywhere before leaving the darkness behind. There was no one on the ground that he could see. Carefully, he moved further and further from the hiding place he had emerged from, ducking down behind trees and under ferns when something unknown rustled the ground cover or flew overhead.

The sun got lower, the forest beginning to quiet down for the night save nocturnal animals and insects. Ty did not know what to do. He knew he couldn't go back home; he was pretty sure there was nothing left for him back on the Cliffs. But what could he do now? Sly wasn't there with him like he promised and without the elder sibling, the little cub was lost on what to do.

Tiredness soon caught up with Ty, causing his mind to blur ideas on what his best course of action was. Perhaps sleep would help him think better... Hunkering down near a large tree, Ty curled up along the exposed roots and eventually let the fatigue of the day take him into sleep.

It was a fitful sleep, wrought with nightmares of the events of the day, both known and unknown. It was no surprise when he felt tired still upon waking at dawn to the sounds of the morning wildlife.

However, the fatigue did add a more sensitive paranoia to his little mind. He was quicker to hide when something moved. This was the case when something came fluttering down from the treetops above, scaring the little golden Thylacine.

"Now what are you doing out here, mate? Aren't you a bit young to wander about on your own?"

From under the fern he had taken shelter under, Ty looked up. Green eyes met with a bird. A Cockatoo, if he remembered his lessons right. The voice that came from him was friendly. Pleasant.

_What would Sly do in a situation like this...?_

Probably try to say hello and see if the other was indeed a friend. Slowly, Ty stood up out of the brush to look at the bird.

"G-g'dday?"

It was shaky and scared, but he was young and had been through a lot in the past day. His appearance incited a reaction from the Cockatoo that he did not expect.

"Struth! You're one of the Tazzies from Rainbow Cliffs, aintcha?!" When the Thylacine nodded his head, he continued. "Real sorry to hear about what happened out there! Glad to see you're alright though. The name's Maurie."

Maurie seemed to be openly friendly enough and concerned. The sympathy he gave made Ty feel better about the company of the Cockatoo. "I'm Ty..."

"Well, young Ty! I suppose I'd better getcha to some friendlier faces than the lizards I saw slinking around here." Maurie's head cocked to one side curiously. "Not the best parental figure, myself, but I do know a few who are."

Ty nodded his head to his new friend's offer. "That sounds good."

"Alright then! Follow me; I think there's a few Bilby clans somewhere around here."

Ty did as he was bade as Maurie took to wing, flying low enough that he could still see and talk to him. The Cockatoo proved to be a good source of company and in his time of need, Ty found him a good friend as well. As it turned out, Maurie owned a few small bars in the area where working folk went after work to just hang about and chew the fat. As a result, he also turned out to be a good source of information. Within the next hour and a half of trudging through the forestry after the friendly Cockatoo, a small hut came into view nestled perfectly into the landscape.

It was here that Maurie landed, settling on the railing of the porch in front of an old kangaroo rat, sitting on a rocking chair. She adjusted her glasses a bit on her nose, looked closely at the bird with squinted eyes. Finally, recognition dawned on her face.

"Maurie!" Her head turned to the open door of the shack. "C'mon out, boys and girls! It's only Maurie!"

Two smaller rats ran out from the house, jumping up and down in joy at the entrance of such an old family friend. The Cockatoo held his feathered hands up to calm them down.

"Hey now. I've got a big request for your mum and dad, kiddos! Are they in?"

"What's this about, Maurie?"

The new voice was gruff with a backwoods accent thicker than the older rat's and the kits. From the inside of the house strode a larger kangaroo rat, male by the timbre of his voice. Despite the bigger size of him, he was still only as tall as the Thylacine cub that was hiding under the post where Maurie had landed.

"You heard about Rainbow Cliffs, mate?" the Cockatoo began.

"Not yet. What's up on the Cliffs?"

"Word is Cass has been out there. Wiped the whole place clean of the Tazzy Tiger communities that were living out there."

The rat's brows furrowed at this. "Oh really? That's unfortunate." Beady black eyes looked down to the shy cub hiding beneath the Cockatoo. "Who's this little'ne?"

Maurie looked toward Ty. "This, mate, is Ty. He's from the Cliffs. Last one, I think." Here, he nodded to the kangaroo rat. "Ty, this is Pa Bilby. He's a good guy, I promise you that."

The cub raised a hand and gave a small wave.

"Lemme guess. You want us to take care of him?" Pa asked, crossing his arms and looking at the Cockatoo.

"Wouldja be so kind, mate? I don't think he's got anyone left and he is just a pup. Just keep an eye on him until I can assess the situation a bit further?" the bird answered.

Pa sighed, looked to Ty. By now, the exchange had upset him so much, piled on top of losing his family and trusted older brother, that he was having a hard time holding in the tears. Quiet though they were, he was still crying.

"C'mon over here, boy. Don't you worry now, we'll keep you safe."

Ty needed no more urging; he clung to Pa Bilby and proceeded to let loose, loudly, against the soft dark fur of the rat. Pa looked at Maurie, petting the cub's head in that instinctual fatherly manner to calm upset children.

"I suppose we can take him in for a little while, at least until we figure out what to do with him. But you be quick about helping us find out where he belongs."

Maurie gave a mock half-salute. "You can count on me to find out what's going on."

With that, he fluttered off.

Pa nodded, sharp and stern, before turning back toward the house, coddling the weeping Thylacine. "C'mon in now, li'l 'ne. Time to meet your family."


	4. Holidays 2012 -- Kecharitomene: 1 - Trek

**A/N****: Part 1 of the (belated) Holiday drabble!**

**I would like to note that there are two other OCs in here that I am using which are not mine. Though they don't have much screentime (even one only in mention), it is still polite to give credit where due!**

**Sy belongs to bluelemonlight on Tumblr and dA**  
**Ry belongs to NanamiXKino here on FF**

**Nanami is fairly new to the fandom, guys! Give'er some love and adoration! Show her we can be awesome!**

* * *

"Sly? Sly, call the family! We are going to Saint Petersburg for the Holidays this year!"

Sly looked up suddenly from the boomerang he had been tweaking, making a small strangled noise in his throat as the magnification on the goggles didn't adjust to the sudden movement as well as they usually did. A birthday gift from Julius, he had crafted them specifically so that the ruddy Tiger did not have to remove them to see while working. Unfortunately, the response time on the things was not exactly up to par with how fast he moved sometimes.

His brow furrowed a moment as he concentrated on the wall behind his workbench. "I really need to scrub the wall back here better..." he muttered under his breath before the lenses finally adjusted and the lack of cleaning was lost to him again. His attention soon turned to Evaleen when she came bolting into the shack and waving an envelope of seemingly great importance, swiveling around on his stool to see her proper. "What've we got there, love?"

"Oooooh, just read it and find out!" The Snow Leopardess was more than just a little giddy, yet she still managed somehow to keep the majority of it in while she handed the envelope and all it entailed to him.

Sly placed the goggles up above his brow for the time being, taking hold of the document in one gloved hand. No one in Australia really used the ivory linen paper as far as the Thylacine knew, but his real clue that it was from out of the country came in the form of the addressing. 'The Royal Diplomat of the Imperial House of Russia' was not a very informal title, plus the blue wax coin that had once sealed it was stamped with the Romanov Crest, not unlike the design etched into the pommel heads of Eva's twin heirloom swords.

The letter in the envelope was printed on three sheets of thick yellow paper. Sly unfolded them as he pulled them out, scanning the contents. It had been handwritten by Theodor, Eva's little brother and the Imperial Tsar-to-be of Russia. As he read, he muttered lightly to himself, one brow quirking as he reached the point in the letter that he knew had Eva excited.

"Struth! Is he fifteen already?" The Thylacine added with a chuckle, "I remember when he was a ball of fluff no older than Ozy."

Eva had settled in Sly's lap, laying her head on his shoulder for the moment. Her tail was the only thing to betray her excitement, the sinuous fluffy appendage whipping and twitching about. "I know! They grow up so fast! Keep reading, though. I think you will like what comes next!"

Had Eva not been sitting on him, Sly might have stood straight up at the last bit. For a short moment, he could barely speak at it. Few things could make the Tiger speechless like he was now, floundering for the right words. The last time he was happened to be the day he learned he was going to be a father. In short, it had been a while, Ozymandias having turned six years old recently.

"That ... that is just ... wow." seemed to sum everything he had read before turning his pale blue gaze into his wife's bright silver. "I think it's only fair I contact the family. What do you think?"

He was greeted with a squeal of delight, the Leopardess wrapping her arms around him snugly before releasing him and practically jumping to her feet. "I shall go find Oz and get to packing!"

Sly chuckled at that, placing the letter back in its envelope and putting it aside. "I'll call the family, love, but I do have to finish Ry's Christmas present and deliver it before we leave." His tone shifted, a tsk given, as he thought of another snag. "I dunno if Ty can leave Southern Rivers for long."

It was moments like this that Sly was not very envious of his little brother, assuming he ever was to begin with. The younger golden-furred Tiger seemed to never have a day off and could barely spend time with his own family, much less the whole extended. Eva stopped before she reached the door to the shack again, cupping her chin against one side of a hand.

"Well, if he cannot come, I am sorry. We will have a secondary celebration with him when we get back." She did not want to leave her brother-in-law behind as much as Sly didn't, but both knew the hazards of Ty having taken the role of hero. "Well, try anyway! He might like to know we are still thinking of him."

A small smile crossed Sly's face at this. Eva had been easily integrated into the family and saw them as hers as well, regardless of species and racial borders. She was always thinking of the rest of them and the feelings were mutual. "I plan on it, love."

The Snow Leopardess gave a playfully stern nod of her head before slipping out the door with no sound. There was no doubt she was going to look for Ozymandias. Sly watched her leave. Finally, he would get to see a chunk of his wife's past, of her culture. It was almost overwhelming, especially since he knew how big Russia actually was without having to be there. People were not as sparsely spread out as they were in Australia. This would take some mental preparation, he knew.

He took a deep breath to calm the nerves that threatened to creep at the mere thought of millions of people in one place, then pulled himself up and strode to the phone anchored to one wall. Reception was terrible out here, especially when the wind kicked up, but it rarely went out unless the line snapped. He pulled the goggles off his forehead for the moment and set them aside as he went about dialing a number he knew by memory. Just one was all it would take.

The calltone was sketchy at best, but the voice that picked it up was familiar. A clear yet tired young voice. "G'dday."

"Hey, bro."

"Ah! Sly! I thought you said the phone didn't work at your place?"

There was a brief moment of awkward silence, Sly taking a small but short breath. Oh yeah. He _had_ said that, hadn't he... "I ... uh ... I got it fixed. Listen. I have a question for you, Ty."

"You got it fixed..." the tone in which Ty repeated his brother's silent confession betrayed the disbelief for the excuse. However, it melted into something more personable at the prospect of being asked something. "Alright. What can I do you for?"

The older Thylacine recovered fairly quickly, one ear twitching subconsciously as the front door opened to the combined laughter of his wife and son. "How do you feel about accompanying me, Eva, and Ozy to Russia this year for the Holidays?"

* * *

The snow had started to fall shortly after crossing the border. Even at the southernmost borders, the infamous Russian winter didn't stop, a wall of white-grey clouds ever rolling forward. While Russia was not always packed with snow, it _was_ the colder months of the year.

Despite the obvious threat of bad weather, the train soldiered on. A white cloud of steam issued from the engine's stack, directed through some genius of design to aim straight for the overcast skies and disappear with little to none of the condensation collecting on the cars or engine behind. The wheels upon the tracks still clacked, but the cabins in the cars were built to muffle the noise.

Ozymandias had never really been on a train. In fact, he had not really seen snow up close. The Snowy Mountains were much too dangerous for a young cub like himself or so his father would have him believe. This was his first time outside Southern Rivers and it was proving to be a tedious journey.

First, he had joined his cousins and Uncle Ty (who had decided to take a break from hero'ing around the Australian countryside and left Ry in charge for the time being) in the confines of his Aunt Shazza's Fourbie. His father would have nothing to do with such a stunt and rather preferred to stick with Naomi and the others -his grandparents, mother, Uncles Sy and Ridge, and Aunt Brolga- in her cross-country van. At first, Oz had no idea why his father did such a thing. He learned soon enough that regardless of passengers, Shazza was still particularly ... reckless. More careful, his uncle said, than she usually was. Leaving Southern Rivers was little more than a demolition derby of the Fourbie versus nature itself, Shazza taking great pains to go the 'scenic route' over and off the dirt service roads that connected Southern Rivers' little corner of the continent with the rest of the world.

Fluffed in panic, they finally arrived at the Brisbane airport with Oz and his cousin, Jesse, practically wrapped up around one another for comfort. Bindi, Ty and Shazza's three-year-old daughter, had found the whole excursion exciting and was laughing about it from her children's seat.

From the airport, Oz finally understood what his mother disliked about planes. The engines were very loud in the small passenger plane they were taking across the continent to Darwin, where they would board one of the bigger capacity planes. Despite the noise of the engines, the family talked and laughed among themselves while Oz and Jesse looked out the windows to see the ground below them. There was much speculation between the two cousins over how far down they thought it was from the plane to the ground. This gave way to bragging about who would survive the longest if they were to jump out.

Sly had to be the killjoy, overhearing the heated discussion, with a rather deadpan, "Neither of you would survive, mates. Be fuzzy little pancakes before you hit the ground." Of course, this prompted a scoff from Eva, but a low chuckle from Ridge when the lighter brother shrugged his shoulders. "Just trying to be a realist, love."

The party landed in Darwin and transferred to the bigger plane that would take them off-continent. There was awe from both Oz and Jesse at the sight of the ocean and the islands they flew over. They laughed and talked until the sun fell below the horizon. Jesse made a comment about how different it looked from above the ground instead of on it. Oz agreed. It was not long after that the cubs fell asleep in their chairs, half draped across one another.

Oz didn't remember the change to the train or even where the plane landed. He had only woken up within the last hour, looking out the window of the private cabin to see a snow-covered landscape rushing by, feeling more than hearing the clink of the metal wheels on the steel tracks.

"It's so ... white."

Jesse was spot on with his rather obvious observation, having woken up himself from across the cozy cabin. The world outside the train was indeed white, blurred with the dark shapes of strange trees and the towering outline of craggy mountain peaks. The tracks left the stable ground, suspended above the stark landscape below on a series of arched pillars and supports. The cabin door opened, revealing Eva and Brolga, each carrying a pair of steaming mugs.

"How are our boys?" Brolga asked, the albino Thylacine handing one of the mugs to Jesse. "It's hot chocolate. It'll keep you warm while we're out here."

"We're good, Ma." Jesse answered, taking hold of his mug and sitting down on the seat next to her. His legs were just short enough on the already-shortened seats that he could swing them without hindrance. "Thanks."

Eva handed one of her mugs to Oz. "Russia is very cold. But see?" She pointed to a pipe that ran through the cabin near the ceiling. "This is heated by steam. It keeps the insides nice and warm while the outsides are still very cold."

Both cubs were seated next to their respective mothers, sipping at the hot drinks and looking up to the pipes when brought to their attention. Eyes were wide with obvious curiosity, but Brolga recognized the look. It was most prominent with Oz, whose eyes seemed to gain more color than before with the prospect of finding out everything about it, the slit pupils contracting.

"Don't you think about touching those. Those are very hot." the albino stated. "We wouldn't want to burn our little fingers, now would we?"

Neither of the children thought this was a pleasant prospect and so, both their heads shook. When their hot chocolate had been drained (and rather quickly once they found out it was liquid chocolate as promised), the rest of the day was spent exploring the train, the boys' mothers meeting with Shazza and Bindi and leading them from the private cabins to the dining cars, the entertainment cars to the passenger seating and as far forward as they were allowed.

The door to the engine cars and engine itself was locked tight and guarded by a pair of large burly Grizzlies who would not let anyone without proper clearance through. Even Eva, an apparent government employee and of the Imperial lineage, was not allowed through the door. The bears did apologize for it, but the Snow Leopardess understood perfectly well and put them at ease by removing her party from the area.

Lunch and dinner had been taken in the dining car, first class. Eva made the joke that since they would not let her through to the engine, this would have to do. This caused the family to laugh some, set a jovial atmosphere for the meal at hand.

The sun set, darkening the overcast skies more, shortly after dinner had been finished. A system of speakers crackled to life with a small jolly tune of three or four ascending notes. A voice, deep and gruff, followed after it, speaking the guttural language of Russian. "_Vnimaniyu passazhirov. My seychas sorok pyat' minut ot stantsii Sankt-Peterburg tsentral'noy. Pozhaluysta, vse svoi veshchi i veshchi gotovy kot'yezdu_."

All eyes turned to Evaleen at that point as the message was repeating. No one in their company but her really knew the language, save the very basics of it. Her ears flattened temporarily to her head at this, her tail fluffing up a bit. For a moment, it looked as though the conductor had cursed every single one of them.

"He was only letting us know that we are due in the station in forty-five minutes..." she answered the silent questions, almost sheepishly.

With the translated news, the family nodded and voiced their acceptance and split off to go to their separate assigned cabins to gather their things. Sly seemed rather unhappy with the change in wardrobe. The Snow Leopardess had bound a scarf around his neck and handed him a thick heavy jacket to wear instead of the usual cut-off vest.

"I don't like to be bundled, Eva." he told her rather matter-of-factly. "Limits my ability to move."

"I do not care. Russia makes your Snowy Mountains feel like the Interior. I do not want colds or any illness floating about because my family does not know how to bundle right."

Sly cast sharp blue eyes to Ozymandias, who was putting on a light jacket and having trouble winding a scarf around his neck. As a result, the cub managed to tie his neck to his arms and waist and was making a general mess of himself. "And Oz doesn't have to wear this thick thing because...?"

"Ozymandias has my fur coat." she explained, leaning down to help untangle the squeaking cub as he toddled about in the restraining embrace of his scarf. "We are built for colder weath-Ozy, please hold still. You, on the other hand, are more equipped for the interior Australian climates." With the cub properly outfitted, the Snow Leopardess stood up, zipping her own light jacket and making certain her scarf was settled correctly. "You are better for scorching weather, we are better for cold."

An almost devious grin wheedled its way across Sly's face. He rarely showed emotion around people, but he showed plenty when it was just his wife and son. "Is that why you sit around in a bra and underwear only on the hottest days of the year, love?"

His voice was low, muttered specifically at her. It still received the expected reaction. She snapped her eyes to look at her husband, blatant hints of warning tinging the silver glare.

"Not with little ears present." was muttered back. Eva was quick to change the subject shortly afterward. "I certainly hope the rest of the family knows of this wardrobe change."

With his poke at her shot down, the dark Thylacine resumed his usual deadpan expression. "I'm sure they do, love. But, if it'll sate you, we can go check up on them."

"I would prefer it, please and thank you." she stated, her tail twitching about in assumed annoyance. It dissipated into an idle quirk after she had the baggage and was making her way into the corridor.

As expected, her worries were merely the result of paranoia. The rest of the family was waiting in the corridor to depart, all of them clothed in appropriate winter garb. Ozymandias sought out Jesse, poking fun at how tightly he was wrapped against the cold.

"You look like a giant red marshmallow!" the hybrid cub said in between bursts of laughter.

The Thylacine cub turned about as red as his coat. "Shut up!" he snapped. Unfortunately for him, a sharp retort was about all he was able to do.

The intercoms crackled to life again, the musical tune followed by the same voice as before. "_Vnimaniyu passazhirov. Sankt-Peterburg pridet v pole zreniya v techeniye dvukh minut. Yesli vy posmotrite iz okna, vy smozhete uvidet' yego v blizhaysheye vremya._"

The message repeated, but was drowned out by Eva's translation of the phrase for the rest of the family. "We are coming out of the pass now. Saint Petersburg should be in view very soon! We can see it from the windows, da."

Everyone crowded to the windows to look out, watching the light reflected on the craggy canyon walls surrounding them blur passed. Somewhere up ahead, the silence of the ride was broken by the sounds of a whistle. The engine had exited the pass first, the cars behind it following one by one from the sturdy pass to another elevated track what lead down into a bowl cut by a river.

Di and either Shazza or Brolga could be heard audibly gasping at the sight that met them as their car exited the pass. Below, sprawled elegantly throughout a natural basin between hills and mountains, it seemed as though someone had planted millions upon billions of tiny lights -colored and white- and flicked a switch to light the area as far as the eye could see. Some small conversation started, Eva pointing out some of the local historical landmarks that could be seen from above. Saint Isaac's Cathedral was a big hit, but not as big as when she pointed out the presiding Imperial Palace.

"We will be staying there for the duration of our visit." she informed.

"I certainly hope it'll be no trouble..." Di sounded almost worried, her brow creased to show the same emotion.

Bri chuckled at her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm pretty sure we won't be any trouble. After all, we were invited."

Conversation halted when a subsonic thrumming rent the air, a pair of large eye-shaped shadows with blinking lights at their front and back flanking both sides of the train. Sly had ducked down somewhat, Ty doing the same. It was instinct, both the Thylacines ready to take on whatever the shapes were in the off-chance they were hostile. A set of high-powered floodlights turned on from the front-bottoms of the crafts, swinging forward to light the engine and then the tracks in front of it before they darted off to follow the engine with hardly any more sound. Just the thrum.

The appearance of the airships caused an almost eerie silence to fall across the Tiger family. The sight was no doubt unusual, but another look out the window caused Sy to point out several more of the crafts circling lazily above the city.

"There's a whole fleet of them!" the younger Tasmanian Tiger exclaimed, seemingly in awe of the dark charcoal-grey steam-powered floating sentinels.

"My great-great-grandfather made certain that when the first models of the airships were deployed, they were there to help in any way possible." Eva explained. "A small squadron of them is assigned to patrol the tracks and light the way after dark."

"They're ... loud." Sly pointed out, quirking a brow. She did not like planes, but this was alright? Such was the expression etched across the Thylacine's face.

"Just the eight that patrol out here, in the wilds around the city." the Snow Leopardess replied. "Without the city below them to heat their patrol borders, they need an extra feature to keep afloat on nights when it gets below freezing temperatures. What you are hearing is the magnet-pole on the bottom of the cabin chassis. I do not really like them, but they are necessary and they are clean."

The darker Tiger pondered this a moment. "Interesting. So the ones over the city...?"

"Are silent, da."

The words had barely left the Russians mouth when the audible screech of brakes being put on combined with the deep thrum of the magnets permeated the air. The train jolted forward, causing a couple members of the family to follow it. Jesse ended up flat on his backside. Oz might have laughed at him, but he wasnt in a position to. The hybrid cub had also lost his balance and fallen into a sitting position not too far from his cousin.

Sly had adjusted rather quickly to the sudden shock, putting one arm out to catch any of the rest of the family unfortunate enough to not to be able to brace themselves. Sy was the only one who flailed out and gripped his elders arm. Everyone else had managed to keep their feet well enough, waiting for their car to level out before reaching down and grabbing their bags, Ridge and Eva only doing so after seeing that their respective children were back on their feet.

The darkness outside the windows was replaced by light glinting off the snow, a soft wash of gold that grew steadily brighter. The escort airships rose, giving a unified rumbling before returning to their posts near the pass.

The snow-covered world outside the city soon gave way to bright light cast from the white cement walls of an entrance tunnel. By that point, the train had slowed down to barely a crawl. With a final turn, the tunnel opened up to a massive glass-canopied landing platform, the train sliding carefully up to the dock before coming to a complete halt.

The intercom crackled to life for the last time. "_Dobro pozhalovat' v Sankt -Peterburg. Pozhaluysta, sledite za svoim shagom vykhodya iz poyezda. Dos vidaniya i Veselykh Prazdnikov._"

There was no translation needed for that. It was obviously a farewell.

With a hiss of steam that rose from the engine, the walls of the cabin and passenger cars on the side of the docks clicked and slid open to the sides, allowing people easier access off. The extensive Tiger family unloaded themselves onto the concrete floor of the dock, looking around. It was not much to look at, elegant curved arches holding aloft the glass ceilings above and a seemingly endless labyrinth of paths and bridges, designated docks marked by large ever-changing LED screens depicting Cyrillic characters. Trains were coming and going in all directions.

"Everyone is accounted for?"

Eva had stood as straight up as she possibly could, counting off the heads in her party.

Sly was faster about it. Than again, he was also taller than the majority of the family. Both him and Ridge had been cursed with such height.

"Counting everyone as present, love." he told her.

The Snow Leopardess nodded her acknowledgement. "Good. Please stick together! The central station is very large and more than likely crowded at this time of the year. We do not want to lose any of you." A small low laugh left her at this. "However, it would not be hard to find a Thylacine in Russia..."

There were replies and acknowledgements from the rest of the party, children made sure to be kept within constant sight. With preparations set, Eva turned about and lead the way up the platform to one of the foot-bridges, a small entourage of foreigners behind her. Sly kept close to her, holding on to Oz's hand to keep the curious cub from getting out of sight and keeping an eye on the family behind them.

The Snow Leopardess lead them off the platforms and through one of the door arches to the side of the trains. For a moment, the short tunnel was dark save for the flickering light of candles hidden in niches and behind glass, decorated with bows and garlands. From the dark back wall of the tunnel, a small red light blazed to life, blinking. It turned a steady green, a click issuing from the wall and a pair of arched doors opening into a well-lit chamber beyond.

The size of the docking stations behind them was dwarfed by the station itself. Fine soft white marble and dark wood accented a room of colored plaster walls, depicting in extensively detailed murals the images of characters and figures from Russian history and myth. Wrought-iron benches were set against the walls and around a large fountain on the main floor, innumerable ticket booths set along the walls nearest the front entrance. There were LCD screens set at all corners within easy sight of all travelers. Some had the news going, most ran the train schedules.

The Holidays had left their touch to greet all guests, coming or going. Banners and streamers were strewn from the vaulted ceilings, garlands of holly and ribbons intertwined with one another as accent across banisters and ledges, outlining doors and windows, the latter of which there were many. Candles and bells and bows were hung and centered, all leading up to the centerpiece. A pine tree, as monstrous around as it was tall, was placed in the middle of the main chamber, decorated to its fullest in baubles and garlands, a large star set on top barely brushing the ceiling. On four sides of the tree at its base were four terraced platforms, each holding a small chorus of carolers of varying native species; Wolves, Foxes, Leopards, Tigers, even a Bear or two. Though the lyrics were sung in Russian, the tunes were easy clues to which song was which. The ones nearest the walkways around the tree at each station held a basket, filled with cards to which candy pieces were attached. They passed these out to passersby, though never broke song. As Evaleen had said, the entire room was packed with people, whether they were coming into the station via train or leaving it. The amount of people in just that one room seemed to encompass the total population of Burramudgee and thensome.

While her family party was standing in shock at the size and intricacy of the room, Eva took the moment to turn about, waving her arms with flourish. It was only mildly awkward with her carrying the baggage, but it still worked for the purpose it was meant.

"Welcome, my family! Welcome to Mother Russia!"


	5. Humor Me

**A/N:**** I am sorry for what you are about to read XD It was for a writing prompt on Tumblr; Humor Me.**

**It is comedic, but not in the upfront sense. More of the obscure British roundabout sense. The beginning makes little to NO sense, but that is on purpose.**

**Still, I hope you like it anyway! iregretnothing**

* * *

"Sly! Quit prissin' yourself up and get out here!"

Shazza sounded almost angry, standing outside the darker Thylacine's front door. What could she possibly be angry about? Sly thought back a bit, tried to think of something, _anything_ he might have done to make her such.

"I did it to keep the Blue Tongue from lopping his head off!" he exclaimed, settling on the more recent memory of a Bush Rescue mission gone awry. He'd had to push Ty over the edge of a path when a Blue Tongue had managed to sneak up on the younger Tazzy. Than again, the slope off the path was a gentle incline and though he could hear the crashing of the foliage all the way down, Ty was more than alive, if upset by the sudden intrusion. Blue Tongue? Not so lucky, as to be expected.

"I'm not talking about _that_, you hermit! Now unlock the door and let's get going! Ty's gotta meet with Cass today at the border of Cassopolis to exchange terms of surrender."

"Ex_cuse_ me!?"

Sly sounded incredulous. Probably because he was. Why was he not aware of this sooner? He should have known about Burramudgee surrendering to the villainous Cassowary ... or was it Cass who was surrendering to them? He didn't even know the main points of the whole thing and not knowing who was surrendering to whom was a big detail to go mysteriously missing at the most inconvenient of times. Particularly now.

Another detail caught his attention. Why was his front door locked? It was within business hours and he was pretty sure he'd left it unlocked...

"You forget already? I expected such a memory lapse out of someone twice your age." Shazza snarked. "Cass is surrendering to us and Ty needs to make sure it's all legit. We have to go! Make sure that damned Cassowary isn't planning on doing anything."

Sly had grasped the doorknob by now, jiggled it. It turned with little resistance, the door opening wide. The door was unlocked.

"Why are you yelling at me from my front porch when the door's unlocked?" he asked, deadpan. There was shock, but for some reason, he didn't feel as surprised as he honestly should have been when Ken stood before him. Talking in Shazza's voice. This didn't even strike the rusty Tiger as odd.

"Because the door was locked, Sly. You know I'd have tried at least twice over to open the thing before deciding it wasn't going to be unlocked by power of mind alone." she said sarcastically.

He exited, locking the door behind him. Could never be too careful. He did make a note somewhere that it was always strange to see _Ken's_ lips moving and _his_ body-language mannerisms while _Shazza_ was doing all the talking.

"But it wasn't ... That's not the point. The point is, why wasn't I aware of this whole ... surrender ... thing?" he asked, starting down the side of the rock. Just to make sure, he put a hand on the stone. Felt real enough to him...

"You've known since last night, when we got the transmission." came the almost frazzled reply from the Dingo-Devi- Wait a minute. Ken was slowly shifting. When Sly looked over his shoulder to the hulking Ranger, the black fur was turning golden-blonde, the Devil's nose starting to grow a little more outward, his frame shifting in awkward angles. "Honestly. Maybe you should try some Gingko Bilboa or something. I hear that helps with memory."

The Thylacine's ears flattened to his head at this. "That's for the elderly, Shazz."

"You have the memory of one..."

"Oh, ouch."

Wasn't he just walking down the path around the rock? He could have sworn that it took much longer to do that at the almost drowsy pace they had been going. He was standing in the field now. Did the weeds have a purple sheen to them before? Maybe.

"Come on! We have to get to the rendezvous point!"

Shazza walked right passed him. It was Shazza this time, something Sly was grateful for. The last time he'd looked at her, it was that horrid abomination of Shazza and Ken. Shazzen. Or ... something.

Sly walked on right after her. It didn't seem any less odd to him that they weren't taking the Fourbie and having him suffer Shazza's wonderful driving tactics, or even running. It was a slow, easy walk through a field that smelled like smoked apple cider and shimmered in alternating rainbows of color. Other than that, the banter was fairly normal.

"So, what're we looking out for, Shazz?" Sly asked her. He still didn't have a clue what was going on or what his job actually was. Given his history with Bush Rescue, it shouldn't have been too hard to guess what it was he was supposed to be doing.

A couple of snowflakes broke the space between the Dingo and the Thylacine. Shazza pulled out what could only be a rocket launcher from her back pocket, started checking it over. "We're supposed to be scouting around and making sure Cass doesn't... Why am I telling you this? You agreed to it!"

"I have the memory of an elderly Tiger, according to you." Sly replied, low and almost menacing. Not that it was actually menacing. He knew that Shazza could tell which was which. She'd been around him enough.

"Fair enough. Above you, by the way." she replied, a shrug of her shoulders given as she said it.

Sly chanced a glance upward to the pale grey skies in time to see what looked like a mix between a Koala and a Frill come falling out of the overcast above. The Thylacine grimaced a bit at the thought of having to throw something at the creature and, almost on cue to the thought, the strange hybrid exploded into multicolored flakes.

"Well. That's new." he muttered before turning faded blue eyes to Shazza, trudging through the snow that had piled at the base of the mountain ahead. "So what are we doing? Humor me here and refresh my memory."

"We're supposed to take out Cass' death ray. It's aimed at Ty for the rendezvous." the Dingo scoffed. "Seriously, Sly. We've just been over this. You have rocks in your head or something?"

"Nah. Just a reclusive nature." he answered her, haphazardly aiming an elbow strike to the rock face of the mountain. It made a dramatic **hurk** and a coughing noise before four fairly decent-sized stones fell off the face where he had impacted it and rolled across the path in front of him. "So Cass has a death ray? Cliche, but about time it happened."

"Cass is a cliche. Watch yourself." The grenade launcher was lifted, aimed, and fired at a slope ahead. The little black egg-shaped explosive flew in an arc, hit the ground, and immediately exploded.

Turned out the slope was nothing more than a bank of snow. The aforementioned 'death ray' was hidden beneath it, an uncharacteristically elegantly-shaped piece of equipment with coils of varying colors and a paint job of that dark purple and startling green. A decal of the infamous Cassowary's head was placed at the spot where a chamber should be. It wasn't very tall though. Maybe as tall as Sly was and that was pushing it a tad.

The closer they got to it, the smaller it became, until it was no taller than Shazza's waist. Sly scoffed at it. "You'd think he had enough funds to make it ... I dunno. Bigger? More death-ier?"

"'_Death-ier_' isn't a word, Sly."

"It is in _my_ dictionary."

"_Your_ dictionary's about as reliable as your memory."

Sly paused at that. "...You're just full of it today, aren't you?"

"Incoming." Shazza raised her cannon and aimed it at the struts holding the log troughs above. "Find the 'Destruct' button on that thing, wouldja Sly? I've got to hold off the welcome party."

The entire exchange had been emotionless and deadpan and had Sly been in his right mind at the time, he might have found it just a bit off. However, he was more about finding the big red button that was staring him back in the face on the weapon's base. "This one?"

"Does it say 'Destruct'?"

"It does."

"Push it."

His pushing the button was accompanied by the simultaneous noises of both a beep and the cannon behind him going off. There were cries from above as the monstrous metal ball flew straight up, up, up and came back down, down, down. It took out three separate troughs and about half the bracing (plus a ton of hidden reptiles) in its path.

With that done, the ray started to melt. Kind of like someone had spilled paint thinner on an oil painting. Sly grabbed Shazza by the wrist, the Dingo relinquished her grip on the cannon, and they both jumped off the side of the mountain as it melted behind them.

They landed on the edge of the Australian Interior, right on the edge of the seemingly-endless Outback. Ty was standing there with Ken and Dennis by his side, but Cass was nowhere to be found.

"Are we late or are we early?" Sly asked.

Ty shrugged. "I dunno, bro. Just got here."

"Early." The word was shared in unison between both the Dingo and the darker Thylacine.

"Oh no, here he comes!" Dennis exclaimed, rather over-dramatically.

His exclamation caused everyone to look and see the dropship presumably carrying the villainous Cassowary land in front of them. Sure enough, Boss Cass emerged from the confines of the vehicle, strutting forward in his usually proud way with Fluffy and a couple of Frills and Blue Tongues in his wake. Once he was in range of the rendezvous party, he stopped and cleared his throat with the sound of raking wood on wood and creaking door hinges.

When he spoke, a melodic female's voice of obvious Russian origin issued.

"Sly, I am home!"

* * *

The rust-colored Thylacine snapped upwards with a snort into reality from where he had lain across his workbench. Had he really been sleeping the whole time? He looked down, around, rubbed his eyes free of sleep, and noticed the fur on one arm was almost soaked.

Yup, he'd been sleeping. Deeply, from how much he'd actually drooled. Quickly, he went about wiping up the mess, seeing to it that the area was clean of any evidence of his nap and that he had dispelled the sleep from him entirely.

Turning about, blue eyes caught sight of that pale silver fur first, a wisp of Eva's tail before she entered the room. Carefully concentrating on controlling any part of his face, Sly gave her a greeting smile.

"Welcome home, love. Have a good trip?"

The Snow Leopardess strode forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and plopping on his lap. Usually, he would have pushed anyone who did such a bold move off, but Eva was special. She was, after all, his. As she settled, he returned her hug, his arms wrapping carefully around her waist.

"Oh da." she laughed. He liked it when she laughed. "Except that last bit, in the little plane with the propellers. I really need to talk about getting some solar airships out here."

He tsked in playful annoyance. "Too noisy?"

"Too noisy." Silver eyes fell to one spot on his arm, a brow quirking. "You fell asleep on the workbench again?"

The dark-colored Tiger grimaced a bit at being caught. Now that he was, he saw no sense in hiding it. "Aye. Don't sleep well when you're not around, I'm afraid."

She touched her nose to his. "Well. I am home now, so you may sleep better." she told him, crinkling her nose up when he did the same to her. "Did you dream?"

He nodded his head a bit. "Aye, I did."

"What was it about? Good dreams, I hope?"

He had to think back, running through the events of the dream. The more he thought about it, the more his brow furrowed. It did not take Eva long to decipher what his next expulsion meant, three simple words to sum up what he had experienced in his sleep.

"What the _hell_!?"


	6. Tell Me

**A/N****: Here it is! The Tell Me drabble for thatsalotofmyblood on Tumblr!**

**I hope it's alright!**

**Admittedly, Julius is fun to write, once I get into his character again.**

**Just basically a placeholder until I get back on ****_Kecharitomene_****. Which I am working on the second part. I will be rearranging the chapters proper when I get stuff done.**

* * *

Julius was still picking up the pieces that had been one of his experimental labs. Thankfully, it had not been one of the labs with the corrosive materials, but that was beyond the point. The point was that his lab had been torn apart. Months of research and compiling data, gone.

Julius McGuffin was a tolerant, patient koala. But this was the last straw. He found himself actually muttering obscenities under his breath, picking up pieces of broken glass that had been strewn across the floor and tables.

"Blasted Cass and his goons. If I ever catch any of them near here again, I'll..."

To be honest, he didn't know who the actual culprit was, but who else could have done such a thing? Who else could have been so terrible to destroy his work and leave it there?

The koala paused only a second when he heard footsteps in the hall outside his broken lab, returning to his task of picking up bits and pieces of what had been beakers and tubes, flasks and bottles. He paused a second time as the sound of someone clearing their throat issued from the door, standing up to see who the intruder was.

He was not surprised to see the young hero of Southern Rivers, the Thylacine Ty, standing in the doorway. "G'dday, Julius..."

"Good to see you, my boy!" Julius greeted, forcing a positive face for the golden-furred visitor. "Excuse the mess. I turned around for a few minutes to fine tune one of your brother's new requests and one of Cass' goons got in." He tsked. "All that work is now all over the floor."

The koala did note the rather absent-minded reaction of his little friend, but merely filed it away for the moment. The glass in his hands was disposed of before he returned to pick up the rest of what he could. He wouldn't deny to himself that, kneeling down to pick up what had been an Erlenmeyer flask filled with an attempt at a new fuel for the small secondary generators of businesses, the vocal pause did strike a small chord of suspicion.

"Do you ... do you need some help there, Julius?" Ty asked him tentatively.

The young Thylacine was acting particularly nervous, the hesitation of before dredging up with the recent stutter. Julius was starting to see the pattern here. However, he would not call him out on it. Best to play along and see where it lead.

"Most certainly, any help is very appreciated." he told the other, adjusting his glasses a bit. "At the moment, I am taking care of the larger chunks. If you would like to get the mop and start on the wet spots." He added, "Do not worry if they mix; there's nothing particularly volatile about them. If anything, mixing would negate the effects of each to make them even more harmless than they already are."

"Alright. I'll do that, then." the golden-furred Tiger said, nodding his head in that twitch he usually had.

"Thank you, my boy! Clean-up will go so much faster with help." Julius stated, returning to picking up the larger pieces.

"It's ... really no problem, Julius." Ty replied, pulling out the mop and bucket nearby and getting to work on his given chore. "So how do you know it was Frills? Or Cass? It could be anyone, right?"

Most of the stereotypical Australian lingo had left the golden Thylacine's accent. It was really being made clearer the longer it was drug out. The wet slop of the mop preceded the point where Julius answered.

"What an absurd question! It had to be Cass' goons! After all, only they are capable of something so heinous as to come in and wreck everything without a thought and leave!"

"What about your uncle, Karlos?"

Julius snorted at this. "That egomaniac is prone to leaving a note when he does something like this. Refuses to leave the job without letting you know who did it."

"Well ... what if it wasn't a bad guy?" Ty offered. "What if the one who did it was one of us? A good guy? And on accident?"

Julius had found his opening! Ty had unwittingly produced the real culprit, but the koala wanted to hear it from the Tiger himself.

"Well then, the only means of retribution proper is to forgive and get it all cleaned up." he said, quite sternly. "Why? Is there something you would like to tell me, Ty?"

At the subtle accusation, Ty's ears flattened and his tail tucked. As Julius had predicted...

"I...I'm sorry, Julius." the Thylacine started, almost shrinking in his spot. He had been mopping at the same place on the floor, going back and forth lazily for a couple of minutes now. "Really, I am. I slipped on something or tripped on something and reached out to stop myself. Next thing, there was a big crash and I guess I kinda panicked."

Julius understood perfectly well. To be honest, the koala had done the same when he was younger and tripped over his own big feet, landing half sprawled across his father's table. Glass was everywhere, he had been scared...

Ty continued on shortly afterward.

"I got outside and just couldn't sit on leaving you down here to clean up my mess..."

Julius patted the younger's shoulder. "Don't worry, Ty. No real harm done. I'm just glad you came back and confessed to it. Kept me from installing turrets or ... somesuch to keep the Frills out."

Ever since the genius inventor had been sent to live with his uncle in his younger years, he had a sort of underlying mad scientist streak. Ty had seen it once or twice before and this proposition would only make him chuckle a bit nervously, his demeanor shifting as soon as he learned he wasn't completely in trouble.

"Best watch my step..." he muttered before adding on for good measure, "Are you ... sure everything's alright?"

"Most certainly. I am a rather eccentric individual, if you haven't noticed." Julius answered, once more pushing his glasses to sit right on the bridge of his nose.

The koala wiped his hands down before opening a nearby filing cabinet. From the third drawer down, he pulled a small stack of notebooks and composition books out, just enough that they could be seen.

"I made sure to keep all of my notes and such in watertight containment in case something like this should transpire." the koala said, pushing them back in and shutting the drawer. "So it should not take as long as it did to get everything back as it was. However, I think you can pay me back by helping set the lab back up."

A smile crossed Ty's face at this. His tail actually began to wag a bit at the prospect of further helping the koala fix his mess.

"That sounds like a plan, mate."


	7. Mourn Me

**So I signed in the other day and got this in my Tumblr Askbox - Mourn Me. Sly and Ridge. Ridge died in a fight. You come up with the rest.**

**PREPARE THE FANDOM TO HAVE THEIR HEARTS RIPPED OUT!**

**I took a lot of liberties to make this into a legitimate short story. Just felt odd trying to write three paragraphs of Sly grieving with no proper backstory to it.**

**Since _Kecharitomene_ is giving me shit on continuing, I figured I'll just go ahead and start posting drabbles at random/drabble requests. We'll get that one finished later. Much later, more likely than not...**

**This is not canon to the _Fields_ storyline, so don't take it as such! This was simply a request from a fan!**

**In the meantime, enjoy!**

* * *

Sly was feeling irritable.

Ridge could tell, even though the younger rusty Thylacine hid it. That was the point behind being brothers, being able to tell what the other was feeling. Of course, Ridge wouldn't blame the younger for feeling that way.

The sun was setting on the third day of their reconnaissance mission, stationed in the no-man's-land outside the guarded fences that made the Cassopolis border. The main gates into the industrial city were within easy view of the pair, who had taken root in a ditch a decent distance away. So far, surveillance had yielded no news.

The brothers had been watching for anything new after a new transmission had been picked up from Cassopolis with a single order, 'deploy the dragons'. At first, Bush Rescue had taken it as a bit of a joke. Cass had, after all, been nursing his wounds from his last foiled attempt at taking control of Southern Rivers. The only known dragons in his employ were a crew of flamethrower-wielded Bearded Dragons who, like much of the Cassowary's forces, didn't have a clue what they were doing half the time and lit themselves on fire the rest of it.

Sly had made a point of saying in his typical realist attitude that Cass had been unusually quiet for a bit longer than he typically was after failing, Julius only punctuating it with news that his geneticist uncle, Karlos, was once more in Cass' employ. The mood had shifted at that moment and within a split second, Cass and anything he was plotting now was seen as an immediate threat.

It was unanimously decided that while surveillance was key to see just what Boss Cass was up to, only two members could honestly get close enough to keep an eye on things and not be caught or overwhelmed. As a result, Sly and Ridge were sent out to keep an eye on things. Both were trained in combat (though Sly was quite obviously the more disciplined between the two), both were heavily armed compared to most other Bush Rescue members, and they were dark-colored. The last was a plus point when it came to stealth.

The area in which the brothers were rooted had been scoured since their arrival into the flatlands of the island on which the city sat, checking for Frills and Blue Tongues who could be patrolling further than the gates. Most of all, they were looking for anything new and unusual, something they hadn't seen to date. With Cass, not seeing anything new was ... in itself new. When that had dredged nothing up, their vantage point was chosen and they had settled into it. Shifts were changed out every six hours, enough time to give one another rest when needed.

After three days, however, Sly was growing more snarky than he usually was. He'd lost the sliver of wood he usually kept between his teeth and had taken to mutilating the shrubbery and weedy foliage around them in his attempt to keep at his habitual twitch. At that moment, he had a stalk of some sort of weed rolling around into a sort of fibrous pulp as he looked up at Ridge.

"Anything yet out there?" he asked, his gritty voice low but with no less of a sarcastic bite.

Ridge shook his head, pale silver one-eyed gaze trained on the gates at that moment. "Four games of cards. Your mate, Jeb, keeps losing from the looks of things."

Sly chuckled rather darkly. "Sounds like him. Not too surprising he's on border patrol. That Frill's a bit soft in the head, I think."

Sly remembered Jeb well, as he was certain Jeb remembered him. After all, it was a very young Sly who had bitten down on Jeb's fin in his run for freedom all those years ago. Probably the only Frill of the bunch who was honestly afraid of the cub back in those days, if anything because he had been afraid the devilish furball would pierce his other fin equally. In a way, Sly thanked the Frill; if it hadn't been for his scared antics, Sly would have had no confidence left.

Faded blue gaze scanned the landscape behind them, away from the gates ... and stopped a moment when they caught movement. There was something out there in the falling light, outlined sharply against the light of sunset. The rust-colored Thylacine creased his brow at it. It hadn't been there five minutes before when he had swept the flatlands to make sure there was nothing out there. It was gone almost a second later.

"Well. This is new..." he announced, almost half-heartedly.

"What's up, bro?" Ridge answered him.

"Coulda sworn I saw something out behind us a ways."

Ridge turned his head just enough to scan in the same direction with his good eye. "I don't see anything out there. And I'm half-blind." He gave a low chuckle. "So bored you're announcing specks of dust, eh, Sly?"

Sly snapped his gaze to his elder brother, a low growl building in his throat. "You doubting my abilities to spot things now?"

Ridge made a dismissive noise at that. "Just keep an eye on things, wouldja? We'll go home if nothing happens tonight."

Sly snorted back, rather derisively, and centered his gaze back out to the plains sprawling behind them. There it was again, a black spot out on the flatlands that rose against the red-tinged horizon. It was fairly big, assuming the judgment of distance was not different in the dusky light.

"There it is again..." the rusty Thylacine reported.

This time, when Ridge turned about expecting nothing, he stopped. "That ... doesn't look so small, does it?"

"Told you there was something out there." Sly muttered at him. "Looks way too big to be a standard Uberfrill. Moves too slowly and organic to be a vehicle or anything robotic..."

Ridge pursed his lips at the thought of it. "...Wanna go investigate it? Or should I?"

Sly flipped the remainder of the stalk to the other corner of his mouth. "Your shift's not done yet. I've got this one." he replied, standing and stretching. The embankment they were hiding behind was at least tall enough to stretch out every so often, something Sly was glad for. Sitting crouched for so long stiffened the muscles, a small series of stretches employed to loosen everything back up for the run.

"Be careful out there, mate. We dunno what that is and I don't want to risk dragging you back home in pieces, aye?" the older, darker Tiger told him.

"You act like I've never done this before." Sly chuckled, spitting out the stalk to one side. He'd get a new one on his return. "I'll be back in a tick. Just keep your _eye_ on the gate."

"I wi-_Hey_!"

Ridge had picked up on Sly's sneaky emphasis on his mentioning of the eye, the elder turning to look back with a retort. He didn't have a chance to; Sly was already gone.

Ridge shook his head at that, resuming his task of vigilance. "'Sly' was a bit too fitting a name for that little monster..." he muttered at a nearby shrub.

* * *

The beast rose up to a towering height of at least twelve feet. Whatever it was, it was reptilian in form but monstrous. The head was triangular, blunt-nosed, a set of wicked claws tipping the ends of its bared fingers and toes. The frame was broad, but not too broad; it fit the creature's height perfectly and was compactly muscular. But what caught Sly's attention most were its eyes.

Hidden behind a rather convenient outcropping of rocks and brush, he could see the eyes glinting with an unusual metallic shimmer, reflecting back as a silvery disc. It dawned on him right then what that was. The reptile he was looking at could see in the dark. Only nocturnal creatures, those awake at night, had eyes like those.

His foot shifted, sending a couple pebbles nearby rolling noisily down the incline he was perched precariously on. Almost instantaneously, the Thylacine hunkered to the ground, flattened himself as close as he could get, and tried to look inconspicuously like the rock outcropping. He could only hope that the settling dusk helped aid him in his camouflage effort.

He watched the creature look almost directly at him. The idea that it could even possibly see him as different from the rest of the background almost made his heart stop. The jaws parted just a small way, a thick tongue shoved out quickly before returning to the confines of its maw. Tasting the air...

The next couple seconds felt as though they dragged on for hours. Sly felt as though he had been locked in a box that was far too small for him, keeping perfectly still to the best of his abilities. Finally, the tension broke when the reptile turned and disappeared with an almost terrifying speed over the crest of the incline. Sly still didn't move at first, waiting for almost a minute before rising to his feet cautiously and looking in the direction it had run toward.

It was gone.

The reptilian brute was gone from sight completely, like it had disappeared into thin air. Sly furrowed his brow at the development, straightening himself upward a bit more. He was readying to turn back toward where Ridge was waiting for his report when the air suddenly grew stale around him and gained a tang that caused him to crinkle his nose at it; the sickeningly sweet scent of rotting meat. It was just such a shift that caused him to spring into action, darting forward a few steps before turning around.

For something so monstrous, this new reptile was very quiet on its feet and frighteningly accurate. Where Sly had been standing mere moments before, the broad flat jaws had snapped down on the air where his neck would have been. By the good graces of his reflexes, he had managed to escape it.

Now that it was closer to him, he recognized it as not a simple reptile. This was one of the monitors. From what he remembered of his lessons as a cub, monitors were vicious meat-eaters, quick-witted and fast. The largest were...

"...Komodo Dragons..." he muttered under his breath, staring straight at the Dragon in front of him. While they were tall, they were usually closer to eight feet. Than again, Karlos more than likely had gotten his dirty paws on the creatures and made them still more formidable. He had obviously not tampered at all with its intelligence or its base abilities. Just enough to make it bigger, faster, and more tuned to its surroundings.

Every hair on Sly's body stood straight out in an obvious show of threat toward it once the shock of seeing such a beast up close wore off. Of course with his measly five-foot-eight next to its near-twelve-foot height, he doubted it felt very threatened by him. The Dragon looked down on him with gleaming gold eyes before it lunged again, snapping at its quarry with that same unsettling speed.

Sly was faster than it was, backing up to put more distance between him and it. His hands found his Deadlyrangs resting at his back in their holsters just under the edge of his vest, pulling them free with little trouble. A flick of his right wrist sent the 'rang on its intended path, bouncing off the forehead of the monitor with an impressive explosion before returning to his hand. He did not stop running in a circle around his adversary, a tactic that saved him from the single taloned hand that shot out of the smoke cloud at him, just as lethally accurate as before. A blast that could have rendered an Uberfrill temporarily incapacitated for little more than ten seconds barely slowed down the monster reptile he was facing now.

In little more than a split second, the Thylacine had formulated a plan. He turned about to run away from the reptile further up the incline of the landscape the battle was set, looking over his shoulder. As expected, the Dragon burst from the dissipating cloud around its head and was bolting after him at a dead run, having fallen to all fours for better traction on the climbing terrain.

Sly slid around to face the beast, giving it time to close more of the gap. The second Deadlyrang was thrown at the ground right in front of it, the explosion that resulted causing the ground to shoot up into its face. With a particularly wicked hiss, it lost footing and slid a good way down the slope. Sly was already after it, using the first smoke cloud as a screen. With both Deadlyrangs back in his hands, he caught up to it, registered a glimmer of what he only took as surprise in the Dragon's blazing eyes, and slammed the curved edges of both 'rangs into its chin from below.

The resulting explosion of both the active pockets of Exploderium nestled in the curves going off at once caused Sly's ears to ring and his hands to buzz. It also yielded what he was looking for. The Dragon shrieked once before flying backward, tumbling and rolling back down the hill to the point of the original battle. Once it stopped rolling, it didn't move. Cautiously, Sly slid forward toward it, noting the awkward way in which it had come to rest against his original hiding place.

As expected, it wasn't dead. Its sides still heaved with breath. On the plus side, it wasn't getting up any time soon. Cass really had something on his hands now...

It snapped in place almost immediately. "Ridge doesn't know about these..."

His eyes widened. His elder brother had not received the same education Sly had been through. Komodo Dragons rarely hunted alone, usually travelling and hunting in small packs. He had temporarily brought down one, but where were the others...?

"Ridge..."

It wasn't long before he was headed back to where his brother was hidden. He probably would not know what he was looking at when they came for him.

* * *

There was rustling in the dry brush behind him. Ridge flattened his ears to his head.

"Struth, Sly. Could you be any louder? Alert everyone to our position at this rate."

The darker Thylacine was joking, of course. Sly would retort and the pair would laugh it off. That's the way it usually went, at any rate. This time, his younger brother was unusually ... quiet.

"Listen, Sly. I know you're upset about having been out here for so long, but could you-"

He stopped. It wasn't just the stern silence that was off. The air had gained a hint of something rotten. Of decaying flesh. The ditch had the smell of stagnant plant matter of rains long passed, but it wasn't like that. This was stronger. More pungent.

The dark Thylacine turned his head slowly, coming face to face with a rather large reptilian face. It wasn't an Uberfrill, the scaly skin an olive-tinted brown with no markings. His attention was drawn more to the single eye he could see, a bright gold with the glimmer of some form of intellect behind it.

"Well. You're not Sly, are you."

It was more an observation than an actual question, the Thylacine receiving a low growl in answer. That was his only warning before the head of the monitor moved swiftly toward him, only to be blown off its mark by a loud bang and a cloud of smoke. The reptile gave off a shriek of frustration at its hindrance. Ridge looked off to the side to see Sly running at him, his hand reaching out to catch his returning Deadlyrang.

"Ridge! Get the hell outta there!"

The elder brother did not need to be told twice, using the smoke as a screen to move through. He was surprised when the struck monitor scrambled for purchase on the ground and then bolted after him through the cloud.

As soon as he came close to Sly, the younger rusty Thylacine took off running for the borders back to Southern Rivers. "We don't have the firepower to take these brutes on just yet. I've already called for a pick-up. They'll wait for us at the border. In the meantime, keep your eyes open for at least three more." he yelled over his shoulder.

"The _hell_ are these things!?" Ridge asked incredulously.

"Komodo Dragons. Got another one on the left! He's coming in to flank!"

"One on the right and the one behind!"

Sly did not reply, looking for at least one more.

_Remember, Sly. Komodos almost always come in groups of up to five. Never assume any less._

There were some things Sly knew he could trust from Cass, namely his knowledge on the reptilian folk of the world. It was helpful now. The fifth one came up in front of them, around the curved slope of a nearby hill to head them off. Sly tried to detour himself passed where the massive monitor was heading.

It took a swipe at him, the claws coming dangerously close to his back. He heard a snarl from behind him and turned his head to see Ridge flying at it, locking his jaws on the Dragon's extended forearm.

The rusty Tiger uttered an expletive from under his breath, skidding around to help his brother. The monitor was shrieking in pain, a good sign to its two adversaries. It could still feel pain. It shook its forearm around, trying to relinquish the grip of the darker Thylacine attached to it. It was a fruitless effort on the reptile's part.

"Ridge! Let go of it and let's get going!" Sly yelled at him, seeing the trio of Dragons come running to their squealing member's aid.

The elder brother let the monitor go, taking off as soon as he hit the ground. The brothers didn't get very far before a massive shape slammed into Sly from his left, sending him flying several feet before he hit the ground and rolled. The impact took the breath out of him and set his ears to ringing again. They had been doing a lot of that tonight, ringing.

As soon as he had started regaining his breath and his hearing again, he picked up the unmistakable sounds of low vicious growling and boomerangs flying. Ridge did not have his own set of explosive 'rangs on him at the time. That would be a disadvantage on the darker Thylacine's part. Carefully, Sly picked himself up, regaining his footing. He saw the other three Dragons come running from around the prior corner, the one at the fore limping just slightly from its injured forearm.

_Komodos come from an island where they have eaten much of the food sources. They even turn on one another for sustenance if one shows weakness. This is an important lesson, Sly. You never show weakness, lest the world will devour you in turn._

Sly was running forward, half stumbling in his further attempts to regain his balance lost from the collision that had floored him in the first place.

"Don't show weakness..." was all he muttered under his breath before he picked up the fallen Deadlyrangs again and barreled into the fray with a roaring yell that made the Dragon who had thrown Ridge down think twice about what it was about to do and back off a few steps.

"Sly! Don't worry about me! Get to the rendezvous point, now! Bush Rescue needs this information!"

"Not leaving you behind, Bro!"

Had the situation been any different, it might have caused Ridge to pause a moment. Sly never called him 'bro'. Always 'kid' or by his name. The darker Thylacine made his way to his feet again, retrieved his own boomerangs, and ran to take a stance near his younger brother, who was fending off the Dragon he had faced moments ago. With the combined strike of both the Deadlyrangs, it went down as easily as the first one Sly had dealt with earlier.

The victory was short-lived. He turned about to help Ridge with their escape when he saw the flash of the last fleeting light of day off the claws on one massive hand. Saw them tear into his brother's left side, heard the clothing and flesh rend and Ridge's gurgling blood-filled cough.

Sly could only watch in stunned silence as his brother took two more steps and then collapsed on the ground in a heap of cloth, blood, and fur. The smell of a fresh kill drew the three monitors still standing to the heaving body of the fallen Thylacine.

The world slowed down. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, his breath speeding up and growing heavier. He bristled, head to toe to tail tip. It did not take long for the shock to wear off. He had just gotten his brother back and this was their fate. Faded blue eyes locked on the Dragon responsible, the rusty Tiger taking a stance over his brother's body. He was still alive, but the glazed look coming over his single working eye said it wasn't going to be long.

He was vaguely aware of what he was going to say to Brolga, but it wasn't long before it was pushed into the back of his mind and overtaken by a different emotion. He had made a promise that he wasn't leaving the elder behind and whatever it took, he was going to bring them both back. He apologized, more to himself than to anyone else, before he pushed his usual self back into the far reaches of his mind and unlocked something he regretted doing much later.

_And if the world wants to devour you because you are weak, Sly? What then?_

**_I snap back..._**

* * *

He was smoking a banged-up cigarette by the time the Rescue Wing found them. Sitting on the border, calm and quiet, with Ridge's head resting in his lap as though the older darker Thylacine was asleep. The deep slashes that tore through his arm, throat, and into one side said otherwise.

Sly looked the worst for wear at that moment, torn up, missing his left eye. Ty had never seen him like this before. Than again, he had not seen him pick up a cigarette in years, either. Something was obviously wrong, besides Ridge's unsettling still form. When the younger golden Tiger exited, running up to his elder, Sly stopped him several feet back from him with a raised hand. He rose, taking Ridge with him in his arms and transferred the limp body to his younger brother.

_At least I still have you_.

"Bury him next to Mum and Da. Please. I can't stand to look at him anymore..."

Ty didn't say a word, but the flattening ears and tucking tail combined with big watering eyes said all he wanted to. He knew that the job was dangerous but this only made it a hard-learned reality.

Sly made his way unsteadily to the Rescue Wing, passing by Shazza on his way in. A single glare to her made her simply watch him pass as opposed to try to talk to him, as he could see on her face she wanted to do, flicking what was left of the burning cigarette butt away. Julius was waiting for him, looking for some answer as to his condition.

"I left you a mostly intact specimen. I hope it helps..."

Julius furrowed his brow a little. "Thank you...?"

The steely silence he gained in return only fueled him to move out to see what it was Sly had brought back for him. Ty was standing on the crest, overlooking the flatlands into the no-man's-land between borders. It didn't take Julius long to understand the reason for both Sly's condition and his present attitude; Ridge was cradled in Ty's arms. But it wasn't the body of the elder Tiger that he kept his attention on.

The plain at the bottom of the hill sported the immense body of some sort of reptile. A monitor, if he was remembering right. It was missing a hand and had a gruesomely obvious broken jaw, its front torn open and threatening to spill its innards across the ground. But the shock wore off with a fast sweep of the area.

Pieces of at least four other of the reptiles lay scattered in an obvious trail off into the distance. Julius drew a deep breath at this, a wave of frizzed fur travelling up the back of his head before he pulled out a pair of gloves and snapped them on his hands.

"Sharon, my dear girl! We have work to do!"

The dingo came running, wiping her eyes clean and dry with a small sniffle. "Right!"

What a perfect distraction.

* * *

Sly had held it in, getting back and being seen to by the local medical staff. Wounds had been stitched, the empty socket where his eye had been checked through, cleaned and cauterized.

Ty had made the gesture that they were going to hold a small intimate funeral service, just with the family, to put Ridge in the ground where their parents' empty plots rested. He had offered such to Sly, cautiously, unsure how the elder would take it. Sly had refused the offer. He had said his goodbyes, he didn't need to be saying anymore. Ty understood and let him leave without further incident.

He had made his way back to the shack, climbing up to it with extreme difficulty due to his wounds. After a half hour of struggling up to the structure nestled into the top of the rock, he opened the front door with a scrape of wood on wood, shutting it again and locking it. No business. Not now. The shop was closed.

The rusty Tiger flopped onto the stool in front of his workbench. While he wanted to keep his hands busy, to work on anything to take his mind off things, he couldn't will himself to do it. He brought his fingers to the patch the doctoring staff had given him to cover the socket where his left eye had been.

"Looks like we're more like one another than I thought. Right, bro?"

Memories flooded back to him. Mostly recent, but there were glimpses of a past life with the older Tiger, brief flashes. With the emergence of such came another emotion. Rage. Hate. Mostly at Cass, but also at himself.

The Thylacine bristled at the thought. "I could have stopped this. I could have been better. Why did I have to stumble at that last moment!"

The expulsion was followed by a short fit, the top of the table his victim. Tools had been sent flying, any paper shredded. The sharp pain from the wounds due moving around too much or too quickly was ignored for the time being. Thankfully, the destruction of the workbench seemed to sate his anger for the time being, though gave way to something else.

Hidden as far away from civilization as he could comfortably get, Sly did one thing he had not done since he was a cub. He flopped across the forcefully cleared table, buried his head into his arms, and wept.


	8. Snickerdoodles

**A/N****: So, this piece is part of a two-part crossover set for one of my favorite buddies on Tumblr, little-hero-dale.**

**As a gift for reaching 350 Followers, she sent all of her friends 'cookies' via the Tumblr Submit system. Some people posted theirs with a little OOC note saying thanks, some wrote posts of their characters thanking Dale, I took it as a drabble prompt. With plenty of SlyxEva fluff.**

**As a result, Dale is copyright to Disney; I take no ownership over him.**

* * *

One rounded ear twitched, causing faded blue eyes to open against the ink of early morning. At first, the little tapping was thought to be Ozymandias, coming to ask his father to chase off the shadows in the corner of his room again. Then, he thought it might have been Eva, doing one of her nocturnal wanderings as Snow Leopards were prone to doing on occasion.

He made a small noise of acknowledgement toward the bedroom door. It remained shut, no little spotted face peering in. Wasn't Ozy. Thylacine shifted a bit, feeling a small tightening around his waist and hearing the soft murmur of his wife beside him. Wasn't Eva, either.

By now, the tapping had stopped. As if Sly wasn't paranoid enough before…

His fur frizzed, a sign of cautious threat toward his territory being encroached upon, as he slowly moved Eva's arm aside and sat up. She murmured lightly under her breath before curling up against her pillow. The rusty Thylacine nodded his head at her return to sleep, picking up his Deadlyrangs from the bedside table. If the source of the noise was indeed hostile, he was going to need them at hand.

He slipped across the floor, avoiding the board that creaked and coming to a stop next to the unlatched door. One finger hooked the edge and opened it a little further, giving him enough sight into the front room. It was quiet. A slight brief wind blew up into the side of the shack, causing the worn wooden walls to creak lightly in protest.

Something darted across the side window, small enough that it didn't even cover a window square. It cast a shadow on the floor, noticeable. Sly ducked down, ran into the front room with his choice boomerangs brandished and ready. The fur along the Thylacine's spine was raised in spikes, head low with teeth displayed. There was nothing in the room and a quick search around and behind furniture confirmed it.

A quick check was given into Oz's room. The hybrid cub was out cold, wrapped up in his blankets. A sniff or two was given into the room. The smell was still the same, no foreign scents permeating the air. Oz was safe. With that small worry placated, the door was shut and Sly turned his attention toward the front door.

Thylacine moved toward it, unlocking the bolt and knob as quietly as he could. For a small moment, he listened through the door for any sound of movement. Silence. It caused his fur to frizz more, if that was even possible. With a deep breath to ready himself, he yanked the door open with the familiar scrape of wood on wood. The only thing he was assaulted with was fresh night air … and the scent of warm cookies.

A quick glance around the porch revealed there was nothing particularly living, but a small basket decorated with a small bow and a tag was set near the front door. He looked around once more, taking care to leave the shack to fully check the porch. Save himself, it was devoid of life.

Satisfied that any possible threat was null, he turned about and faced the basket in front of his door once more. Carefully, he sniffed at it, reaching down to pick it up and sniff at it again, closer to it. An inspection of the tag said who the recipients were quite plainly; _To Sly and Family_.

The wind picked up again, causing the wooden path spiraling up the rock spire to creak, the shack once more to groan and shudder. Sly looked toward the source of the noise, his ears pinning back and the smoothing fur around his hackles starting to raise again.

The porch was flooded with light before he could move to investigate and put his protective paranoia to rest, the Thylacine's attention turned toward the open front door. Eva had apparently noticed the absence of her husband next to her, the Leopardess waking up to investigate. Once her sleep-ridden silvery gaze found him, she was already out the front door to stand next to him.

"Vhat are you doing avhake at four in dhe morning?" she asked, her usually-smooth voice crackling with disuse. Her gaze was soon averted to the basket he was holding, one brow quirking upward at it. "And vhat is dhat?"

He shrugged, offering it up to her. "Dunno. Found it on the porch after a couple o'strange noises."

Eva gave off a low knowing chuckle at taking charge of the basket, reading the tag while Sly did one final cautious round around the porch and part of the walkway. "Only you vhould look at a gift and dhink it vhas some plot." she said, proceeding to dig into the contents of the little wicker container. "Snickerdoodles!"

The rust-furred Thylacine looked over at her as she fluffed in surprise with her exclamation, confusion tinting his face. "Snickerdoodles? Is that code for somethin'?"

The Snow Leopard gave him an indiscernible look, but her tail flipped about as though somewhat annoyed. "Nyet. Cookies."

She offered up the basket for his inspection, Sly taking hold of it carefully to look at the contents. Sure enough, there were a total of three cookies, snickerdoodles each.

The look on his face said it all, but he felt he had to voice it as well. "Who in the hell leaves cookies on someone's doorstep at four in the morning!?"

Eva shrugged before reaching in and taking one of the cookies. A bite was taken from it, much to the shock of the Thylacine.

"You dunno who left those! How d'you know what's in them?" he hissed, receiving a contemplative look from his wife at that.

"Vhell, I taste some sugar … flour … maybe a hint of cinnamon…" Her run-down of the ingredients was cut short as she grabbed another cookie and shoved it in his mouth. "Dhey are good. Try some!"

Sly sputtered a moment on the suddenness of the cookie in his mouth, but after the initial assault, he seemed to accept his fate and finished munching the sugary treat.

"Yeh. Not bad." was finally expelled once he had swallowed it proper. Contrary to how it sounded, that was probably the best compliment he could give anyone.

Eva scoffed at that, snatching the basket from him. "I told you it vhas not going to kill you." she snickered before sitting on the porch against the side of the shack. "You know, dhe sun is coming up."

Sly merely flattened his ears as she took the basket from him, but looked toward the far horizon. The sky was beginning to fade from the black of night to the faint muted blue of dawn, a pale light tracing the edge of the distant world. A small smirk crossed his face as the silent request was translated and received.

"Aye. S'ppose it is, love." he chuckled, flicking the light in the front room of the shack off and settling down next to the Snow Leopard.

She set the basket between them, leaning her head on his shoulder. In return, he put his arm across her shoulders, returning the lean. He gave off a small laugh when she nuzzled against him, giving her a small hug.

"Love you." she muttered at him. She was close enough that she knew he would hear her. Her prediction was proven correct when she felt the muscles around his jaw twitch. She didn't have to see that he was smiling. She already knew.

"Love you, too." he responded.

* * *

Early morning sunrise found Ozymandias awake. As he left the bathroom, little silver eyes found the front door to the shack wide open, his parents' bedroom left open. A quick glance into the room beyond the door told him that neither of his parents were in their room. Carefully, the cub sneaked toward the open front door and looked around on the porch passed it.

His parents were leaned up against the front of the shack, leaning against one another. Both were asleep, washed in the warm glow of the sunlight. Quietly, Oz closed the door to the shack on making sure the knob was properly unlocked and tiptoed toward his slumbering parents. A basket was nestled between them, displaying a single cookie within the confines.

He picked up the basket, sat down where it had been sitting, and snuggled up against both parents. Eva made a small noise of surprise at being disturbed, but she moved to accommodate her little hybrid son.

"Dhe cookie is yours." she muttered at him, Sly punctuating the movement with a noise in his throat and a slight tightening in his continued embrace around his wife's shoulders.

Oz proceeded to spend the rest of the morning sitting between his slumbering parents, munching on his bestowed cookie, and watching the morning sun rise steadily higher.


End file.
